Linda Cutler, a 29-year-old Florida woman, was arrested on Wednesday, May 27, in connection with a fatal dog attack that occurred on May 19 near Cocoa, according to Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey.
Authorities said Cutler’s dogs breached the fence of her property and fatally mauled 50-year-old Jodi Cowan in front of her husband, Donnell Smith.
Highlights
- Florida woman Linda Cutler has been charged with manslaughter after her dogs escaped from her property and mauled 50-year-old Jodi Cowan.
- Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey claimed that Cutler “feigned having a heart attack” during her arrest.
- Cowan’s husband had come to her rescue and swung a knife at the dogs to scare them away, but by then, they had already caused irreversible harm.
“Seeing the woman I’ve loved for the last 25 to 30 years just ripped apart by two animals was just… I’ll never get that image out of my mind,” Smith said in an interview.
Ivey later told reporters that Cutler “feigned having a heart attack” while being handcuffed during her arrest. She has since been charged with manslaughter, and her arraignment is scheduled for June 23.
A Florida woman was arrested after her dogs fatally mauled a 50-year-old woman in front of her husband
Image credits: Brevard County Sheriff's Office/Facebook
Cowan was walking her dog a little after 1 a.m. on May 19 when Cutler’s dogs, identified in the police statement as Max and Mako, climbed over the fence and “began to brutally attack and maul” her.
The victim passed away from her injuries four hours after the incident.
Cutler wasn’t immediately detained. She was only arrested after cops responded to an unrelated disturbance complaint at the Hilton Hotel located on Florida’s Space Coast.
Image credits: Brevard County Sheriff's Office/Facebook
“Hope you enjoyed your time at the beach because you’re not going to be going back,” Sheriff Wayne Ivey said while arresting Cutler.
“What is the purpose of that?” a seemingly clueless Cutler asked.
“A woman is d**d because of your uselessness,” the sheriff replied.
Cutler faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Authorities accused her of failing to strengthen her fence despite knowing her dogs had previously escaped.
One of Cutler’s neighbors had previously been bitten by her other dogs but did not cooperate with the investigation, preventing authorities from taking action.
Dominica Midkiff, one of Cutler’s neighbors, spoke to Florida Today following Cowan’s passing and revealed that the dogs “were always on the loose.”
Cowan’s husband, Donnell Smith, has shared a heartbreaking firsthand account of the tragedy
Image credits: WESH 2 News/YouTube
Smith spoke with WESH 2 News, a Florida-based NBC-affiliated news station, on May 21.
He shared he had returned home late after helping neighbors across the street and realized that Cowan and one of their dogs were missing.
Then he heard a faint cry for help.
“I saw the silhouettes of the two dogs dragging my wife down the road, off into the grass in front of a truck,” Smith said.
Image credits: Brevard County Sheriff's Office/Facebook
He said he found his wife lying in a pool of blood with bites all over her body. According to Smith, the dogs came back and tried to drag her away from him, but he pulled out a knife and swung at them to scare them off.
Smith was eventually able to call 911. He detailed that Cowan was flown to a local trauma center, but her severe injuries made it impossible for the doctors to save her.
He claimed that he and others in the neighborhood had warned authorities about the dogs.
“I told them that she had those two pits that get out all the time and run the neighborhood and have been aggressive towards people, and they didn’t do anything about it. My wife lost her life because of it,” Smith lamented.
The dogs, as of this writing, are in the custody of Animal Services and are set to be euthanized.
The incident has reignited debate over whether pit bulls are a suitable breed to keep as pets
Image credits: WESH 2 News/YouTube
The American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals do not classify pit bulls as inherently dangerous. However, their powerful physical traits and history of being bred for blood sports make their potential to inflict severe harm much greater than that of other dog breeds.
Several countries, including the UK, Australia, Singapore, and New Zealand, have therefore banned keeping them as pets.
Image credits: WESH 2 News/YouTube
Netizens sounded off against the breed following the demise of Jodi Cowan, with one saying, “The people who deny the genetics of these dogs and choose to own them and don’t secure them should be penalized.”
“This breed attacks to k*ll, unlike others who attack to create space,” claimed another.
“It’s a bully breed. Why do we need them?” asked a third.
Image credits: Brevard County Sheriff's Office/Facebook
Those defending pit bulls argued that, with proper training, the breed becomes harmless and that the owner was the only person at fault in this case.
“How did this case turn into a pit bull-hating game? This is about poor ownership, not the dog breed,” one commenter said, while another claimed they had “owned pit bulls all my life and they never hurt anybody.”
Image credits: Brevard County Sheriff's Office/Facebook
“My poor pit was attacked by another dog and lay on the ground and cried,” a third claimed.
“My dog was never aggressive. I raised him right,” said a fourth.
"If your dog gets out of the fence you are definitely responsible," a separate user said
