Florida woman’s dogs attacked in her neighborhood. Her response? Allegedly, she faked a heart attack

29-year-old Linda Cutler from Brevard County, Florida , has been charged with manslaughter after her unleashed dogs fatally attacked 50-year-old Jodi Cowan. As the owner of the dogs, Cutler, is now facing a charge of manslaughter after a police investigation.

According to News 6 of Click Orlando, Sheriff Wayne Ivey explained that Cowan was attempting to protect her own dog while fleeing from two larger dogs that had targeted her. During the struggle, Cowan was eventually overwhelmed and pulled to the ground. Her spouse ultimately heard the commotion and intervened by swinging a knife at the dogs, but unfortunately, the damage was already done. Cowan passed away a few hours later while at the hospital

News 6 noted that the detective described that Cutler had taken “minimal action” to secure her property, despite being cited by animal services numerous times in the past. In his press statement, Ivey pointed out that there is a history of calls regarding the residence dating back to 2024. He clarified that “the calls at Cutler’s residence were related to other dogs, as the two dogs involved in this attack were puppies back then.”

The neighborhood raised concerns

Ivey clarified why Animal Services couldn’t have done more. “While you might think that animal services has the authority to seize dogs that routinely escape from yards, or that have even bitten someone, the unfortunate reality is they don’t,” Ivey explained. “In fact, even if a dog has previously bitten someone, and it’s not a severe bite, the most action our animal enforcement officers are allowed by law to take is the issuance of a citation and a fine.”

Cutler was arrested on Wednesday, May 27, when Melbourne police responded to a disturbance at a Hilton hotel near the beach. This led to Sheriff Ivey developing a strong opinion about the timing of the arrest. 

“Are you kidding? Folks, an innocent woman is dead, and two dogs are about to be euthanized because of this woman’s inactions and failure to be a responsible pet owner,” Ivey declared. “And she and her little honey are hanging out at the beach.” 

To make matters worse, the sheriff stated that Cutler attempted to fake a heart attack during the arrest process. She was medically cleared and taken into custody regardless.

According to Justia, involuntary manslaughter is generally defined as the unlawful but unintentional killing of another person. It involves a lower degree of culpability than murder and often requires a prosecutor to prove that the defendant acted with criminal negligence or recklessness. 

Criminal negligence typically represents a significant deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would have followed in a similar situation. In Florida, a conviction for involuntary manslaughter can carry a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. Because the crime does not require intent, a lack of intent is not a valid defense for a defendant facing these charges.

Donnell Smith, who was Cowan’s partner, shared with News 6 that he was actually friendly with Cutler, which has left him with complicated feelings regarding how the justice system should handle the aftermath. “Do I want her to rot in jail? No,” Smith said. “Do I want accountability? Yeah. There’s some other individuals that need to be looked at, some other entities that need to be looked at.”

Dogs might be beloved pets, but as animals, they can be very dangerous. It is usually a good idea to be on guard, and one woman found herself the subject of debate when TikTok caught her kicking a dog. Similarly, one TikToker shared how getting bitten led to her friend’s dog being euthanized.