BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A Brevard County woman is facing a manslaughter charge after deputies say her two pit bulls fatally mauled a Cocoa woman earlier this month.
Fifty-year-old Jodi Cowan was killed May 19 near her Blue Bonnet Drive home after deputies say she was attacked by two dogs identified as Max and Mako.
According to Cowan’s longtime partner, he used a knife to fight the dogs off before calling 911.
On Wednesday, Brevard County deputies arrested the dog’s owner, Linda Cutler. Investigators said members of the Sheriff’s Office Game Over Task Force and Fugitive Unit were already searching for Cutler when law enforcement responded to a disturbance call at a hotel where she was later taken into custody.
Sheriff Wayne Ivey said investigators believe Cutler knew the dogs were becoming aggressive and failed to properly secure them.
“It’s not the two dogs’ fault and it’s certainly not the victim’s fault that was mauled by these dogs,” Ivey said. “The person that’s at fault is the exact person we walked into jail for her inactions to prevent this.”
Neighbors told Channel 9 they repeatedly contacted Animal Services before the deadly attack because the dogs were allegedly roaming the neighborhood.
“I think they should have put their foot down and said, ‘Wait, this is a constant problem,’” neighbor Dominica Midkiff said.
Sheriff Ivey said Animal Services’said did what they could within the confines of the law. He told us Cutler was cited but, there was no legal grounds to take the dogs. “The law doesn’t give us the ability to go into someone’s neighborhood and say, ‘These dogs got out twice so we’re going to seize them,’” Ivey said. The sheriff also said there had been an earlier reported dog bite involving the animals, but investigators did not have a cooperating victim.
The two dogs are currently being held at Animal Services and are expected to be euthanized following a court process.
Cutler is being held on a $250,000 bond in the manslaughter case. A judge also revoked Cutler’s bond in two unrelated pending cases involving drug possession and theft allegations.
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