DELAND, Fla. — The family of an 8-year-old boy who was mauled to death by two dogs in DeLand is pushing for more charges in his case. The owners of those two dogs had a hearing ahead of their trial on Tuesday.
A little more than a year after 8-year-old Michael Millett was killed by two dogs while riding his bike in his DeLand neighborhood, his family is asking the state attorney’s office to take a second look at his case.
“An 8-year-old being killed by dogs, it’s unfathomable, it shouldn’t happen,” said Michael’s mom, Tiffani Connell.
Investigators said the dogs’ owners, Amanda Franco and Brandy Hodil, deleted messages about their behavior the day Michael was killed. Michael’s mom believes that’s enough for a manslaughter charge to be considered.
“Both of those things are in writing and that’s a legal notice. Hey, your dogs are causing issues, and you need to act, and she didn’t; therefore, she is negligent,” said Connell.
The State Attorney’s Office told us that prosecutors have already looked into manslaughter by culpable negligence and don’t believe there is sufficient evidence to pursue those charges. In July of last year, Eyewitness News pressed the State Attorney’s Office for answers after Michael’s family heard nothing for six months.
A week later, the State Attorney had a news conference and announced that only one of the owners, Amanda Franco, would be charged with a misdemeanor for Michael’s death. We knew from sources at the sheriff’s office that detectives had evidence of both owners deleting messages where they acknowledged the dogs were dangerous and got out and killed a neighbor’s chickens.
We asked the state attorney why he wasn’t considering tampering with evidence charges, and two days later, he announced he would be adding those.
Franco and Hodil’s trial was scheduled for February 17, but their attorneys asked for an extension because they have a new witness.
They are scheduled to return to court in March.
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