Woman CHARGED With Manslaughter After Her Dogs Attack Her Neighbor!

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]A woman is actually going to jail for something that her dog did. And unfortunately, this isn't the first time that this has happened with this woman.

[00:00:10]And unfortunately, someone lost their life in this situation. We're going to get into the story here, talk about a woman who was mauled and ended up dying as a result of a pet owner's negligence.

[00:00:21]Check this out from Fox 35 there in Orlando. And then we'll give you some more updates and insight into what happened. Sad story.

[00:00:28]>> It could have been a kid. It could have been our neighbors.

[00:00:31]>> People living in one Cocoa neighborhood are on edge tonight. A woman mauled to death by two pit bulls. Exclusive video shows the disturbing moments when that attack happened. Thanks for joining us here for the late news at 11:00 tonight.

[00:00:45]>> I'm Lu Ann Serral.

[00:00:47]>> Good evening. I'm Hannah McKenzie. The details of what happened are difficult to hear and maybe tough for some to listen to. Fox 35's Bailey Bogover is live in Cocoa tonight. So, Bailey, neighbors want these dogs out of there.

[00:01:01]>> Yes, they do. And while we don't have confirmation of where those dogs are tonight, Florida law makes it very clear about what happens next when an attack turns fatal.

[00:01:12]Here is the recent video of the attack that killed the woman. We'll walk you through what happens. Here you see two dogs prowling along a fence along Blue Bonnet Drive getting more and more aggressive. Then, the toughest part of this whole story, the seconds the dogs attack.

[00:01:37]We aren't showing the full video because honestly, it's just too tough to watch.

[00:01:42]But I can tell you the screams continue as the dogs rip her apart. Shortly after emergency responders arrive, tonight the people who live on the Blue Bonnet Drive say they won't feel peace until something changes.

[00:01:56]>> Even though I'm in a fenced-in yard, I do not feel safe going to my car in the evenings because some dogs are always loose.

[00:02:03]>> That's scary, man.

[00:02:04]>> Florida law mandates that any dog involved in a fatal attack must be immediately confiscated, but neighbors want more than just the dogs removed.

[00:02:12]They want the owner held responsible. If it's proven the owner knew these dogs were dangerous and failed to secure them, they could face felony manslaughter charges. And we still don't We're still working to get confirmation on where those dogs are tonight and if any charges will be filed against the owner. Live in Cocoa, Baile Backover, Fox 35 News.

[00:02:31]>> All right. Well, of course, Amy is on the case and she was able to get information about the woman being charged. We're going to talk about it here in a second. If you guys don't follow Amy on X, I say it all the time, please make sure you do that to stay up to date on the latest news that we cover here on the show and beyond. You can follow her at I Amy Leon X. She says this, "Man, this is a tragic reminder of the cost of pet negligence in Brevard County. What happened? A heartbreaking incident near Cocoa, Florida has resulted in the arrest of a local dog owner on manslaughter charges following a fatal mauling." On May 19th, this was not long ago. "50-year-old Jodie Cohen was simply walking her dog when she was brutally attacked by two dogs, Max and Mako, who had escaped from the neighbor's yard.

[00:03:19]Despite her spouse's brave attempts to fight off the animals and the quick response of emergency services, Cowen tragically passed away at the hospital a few hours later." Man, man, that the fact that her husband was there, my gosh. Can you imagine having to see that, go through that, live through that?

[00:03:41]Terrible. Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey announced the arrest of the owner, Linda Coulter, 29 years old after investigators revealed a staggering level of negligence and that this wasn't the first time it happened. According to the sheriff's office, Cutler admitted she knew her dogs were increasingly aggressive, had bitten someone in the past, and frequently escaped through holes in her fence yet failed to properly secure them.

[00:04:08]Our thoughts go out to Jodie Cullens family and the loved ones during this unimaginably difficult time. Let this be a sobering reminder to all pet owners.

[00:04:18]Keeping your community safe is a legal and moral responsibility. Here's what the the lovely lady had to say, the pet owner.

[00:04:27]>> What is the purpose of that?

[00:04:29]>> A woman's dead and two dogs are about to be euthanized because of your uselessness.

[00:04:34]So, have a nice visit. Are you kidding me?

[00:04:37]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. And she and her little honey are hanging at the beach at a beautiful hotel. The victim was walking her dog in the neighborhood and was attacked by two dogs belonging to Cutler that had once again gotten out of their yard and were roaming the neighborhood.

[00:04:58]The dogs identified as Max and Mako climbed over the owner's fence and began to brutally attack and maul Cowen forcing her to the ground, viciously attacking her, and eventually dragging her across the ground for quite some distance. Cowen was transported to a nearby trauma center due to the extent of her injuries and was subsequently pronounced dead by hospital staff approximately 4 hours after the attack initially occurred. Agents took a sworn statement from Linda Cutler during which she stated that she was aware that her dogs would routinely get out of the fence and have to be repeatedly returned to her yard. She further admitted that she knew that one of her dogs had bitten an individual and also that both dogs were becoming more and more aggressive even towards her. Even worse, even knowing that the dogs had killed someone because of her failure to control them, she actually asked when she could get her dogs back. Now, imagine that, being so oblivious to reality that you totally glaze over the loss of someone's life and ask, "Can you get the dogs back that you didn't take care of in the first place?" Oh, and to make matters worse, when she was taken into custody, she feigned having a heart attack and had to be, by policy, transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation.

[00:06:08]At the hospital, I'm guessing they determined she didn't have a heart at all because they released her to our custody and, as you can see, I personally met our team at the jail earlier and walked her sorry butt into the jail myself.

[00:06:20]>> Hey, I like this here.

[00:06:21]>> A woman's dead and two dogs are about to be euthanized because of your uselessness.

[00:06:25]So, have a nice visit.

[00:06:27]>> Yeah, I like this here, man. He's He said he was sick of this woman, disgusted. He said they took her to the hospital and probably found that she didn't have a heart.

[00:06:36]Cuz how This type of negligence is scary. It's as a Even as a parent, I mean, can you imagine walking your kids and you see these two dogs running towards you?

[00:06:48]Mhm. And of course, as we know now, the dogs had to be euthanized after the owner is arrested. And here's what's going on with the owner. We got to talk about it. A Florida woman is being held accountable in court this week after her two dogs allegedly They did. Lots of fatal attack that left a local woman dead. Linda Cutler will remain behind bars after she was taken into custody for one count of manslaughter and she's not going to get out anytime soon. The Brevard County Sheriff's Office said Cutler's two dogs, Max and Mako, escaped from the yard and attacked and killed Jodie Cohen.

[00:07:22]The dogs are currently in custody with animal control and are set to be euthanized, the Sheriff's Office reported. Linda Cutler was charged with one count of manslaughter following the death of a Cocoa woman.

[00:07:34]Uh investigators say Cutler's dogs escaped the fence and attacked the woman and killed her. And she was 50 years old as she was walking home with her dog.

[00:07:43]Court records show this isn't the first time Cutler has had a run-in with the law concerning her two dogs. Check this out. Records show she was previously cited for not having vaccinated her dogs and for several incidents involving allegedly hurting people. According to the investigators, Cutler knew the dogs frequently escaped from the yard and had previously bitten another person.

[00:08:06]Her inaction led to the horrific death of an innocent woman, Rivard County Sheriff Wayne Ivy said.

[00:08:12]So, now we know what happened in this situation. I don't think this woman's going to be getting out of prison anytime soon and the sheriff spoke on that as well. The sheriff said that Cutler knew the dogs were repeatedly getting out of their fenced yard and attacking people. The judge prevented Cutler from possessing or owning any animal again. Her next court date is scheduled for for June. Guys, be aware of what's going on. Sad that this happened in this case and hopefully we don't see anything like this happen in the future because I mean, I cannot imagine if there were a kid involved. I can imagine how her husband is feeling at this point being there and seeing this go down. Let me know what you guys think in the comments in the video.