A man stepped out of his house on Arabesque Drive near DeLand one January afternoon only to find two dogs, a pit bull and a Catahoula leopard dog, in his driveway barking and growling at him.
The dogs also appeared at a neighbor’s home less than a mile away on Corgan Road around the same time that afternoon. They snarled at the neighbor, and he pulled out a pocket-knife and yelled at the animals until they ran off.
A woman also spotted the dogs that afternoon in her yard on Darbonne Road. The pit bull was threatening her chickens and the other dog was chasing cats, she was later quoted as saying in an affidavit. The woman fired a gun to scare the dogs off.
About 20 minutes or so after the two men and the woman encountered the animals, the dogs would attack and kill 8-year-old Michael Millett III, who was out riding his bicycle with a friend.
Neighbors: Dogs threatened DeLand area for months
The dogs had been a problem before they tragically killed the young boy. A man told investigators that six months earlier he had been cutting grass on a riding mower when the pit bull tried to bite him. A woman who lived in the neighborhood said that two months before the boy was fatally attacked, the pit bull broke into her chicken coop and killed her chickens.
The investigation following the boy’s tragic death revealed that the dogs had frequently escaped from the home at 3948 Airport Road and would sometimes menace neighbors. But only one person told investigators that he called animal control about the problem dogs, adding that he never actually spoke in person to someone from the agency. And Volusia County Animal Control said it had no record of his call.
The lack of complaints about the dogs would turn out to be fateful. Perhaps, complaints may have spurred some action against the dogs which could have prevented the attack.
But one thing the lack of complaints clearly did is prevent prosecutors from filing more serious charges of manslaughter against the two women who owned the dogs.
Dog-mauling death results in misdemeanor charge
Amanda Franco owned the pit bull. Brandy Hodil owned the Catahoula leopard dog, which, according to prosecutors, is bred to hunt wild boars.
After a months-long investigation, Franco was charged under a statute dealing with an “attack or bite by unclassified dog that causes severe injury or death,” a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and up to a $500 fine.
“To charge manslaughter, there would have to have been a clear history of warnings to the women that their dogs had attacked or menaced people in the past — so that when they let their dogs roam free, they would have known their dogs were likely to hurt or kill someone. There is no such history in this case,” wrote Matt Reed, a spokesman for the 18th Circuit’s State Attorney’s Office.
Initially, Hodil was not charged.
But both women were subsequently charged with tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in state prison, stemming from deleting social media messages.
Franco is represented by Orlando defense attorney Julie Clarke, who filed a written plea of not guilty on her behalf on Aug. 25. Clarke did not return a call seeking comment.
Hodil has not yet entered a plea and court records do not yet indicate whether she has an attorney.
Franco, Hodil delete Facebook accounts, messages
Franco deleted her Facebook account on Jan. 14 when she learned she was under investigation and had declined to speak to law enforcement and requested an attorney, according to a charging affidavit. That account contained “conversations about her dogs’ violent actions with her neighbor Danielle,” the affidavit stated. Franco created a new Facebook account in April.
After the attack, Franco searched Google multiple times for local attorneys and “news headlines of the incident.”
A search warrant for Hodil’s Gmail account revealed multiple searches after the incident for “how to delete Facebook messenger,” the affidavit stated. The same neighbor told investigators that Hodil was deleting conversations she had with Hodil about the dogs repeatedly running loose, the affidavit stated. Hodil was aware she was under investigation by then since her name was mentioned in news reports, the affidavit stated.
Hodil, 40, was arrested Aug. 14 and released from the Volusia County Branch Jail the following day after posting a $7,500 bond.
Franco, 32, turned herself in on Aug. 15 and was released on $10,000 bond the same day.
The two dogs were euthanized Jan. 30.
Why weren’t the charges more serious?
The 7th Circuit declared a conflict of interest, so 18th Circuit State Attorney William Scheiner’s Office made the charging decision.
When asked why the women did not face a more serious charge, such as manslaughter, Reed, the communications director for the 18th Circuit, wrote that the evidence did not support the charge.
Without a clear history of warnings to the women regarding their dogs’ menacing behavior, there’s no documentation stating they knew their dogs posed a physical threat to anyone, Reed said.
He wrote that the misdemeanor charge against Franco is based on the messages she received from a neighbor about her dog killing chickens.
There was no evidence found that Hodil had been warned that her dog had threatened or hurt anyone or any animals, just that it got loose, Reed wrote.
Scheiner stated in a recent release that he would support changes to state law to hold dog owners more accountable when their dogs attack people or pets while roaming loose.
Analyst matches DNA to attacking dogs
Michael was out bike riding with a friend when the dogs attacked him at about 4:56 p.m. on Jan. 13 in the area of Arabesque Drive and Airport Road near DeLand. The boys were in the gated Berry’s Ridge subdivision. But according to a report, the gate had been broken for some time.
A couple of neighbors ran to the scene to try to get the dogs to stop the attack. The dogs finally stopped when a resident drove their vehicle near the dogs. Michael’s mother heard about the attack and ran over, covering her son with her body to protect him from the dogs.
An analyst at the University of Florida examined the DNA found on Millett. It appeared that Kronos, the pit bull, left more DNA on the upper body, in particular the neck, the analyst stated, according to the report. The other dog, Camo, was primarily responsible for the DNA found on the boy’s pants and the wounds on his legs.
But a witness told deputies that she saw Camo biting the boy’s neck and the pit bull his legs.
The Volusia County Medical Examiner listed Millett’s cause of death as “penetrating and blunt trauma to the neck with fracture and vascular injury,” the affidavit stated.
Growling dogs, a run for safety, dead chickens
Troy Hamrick, who lives on Arabesque Drive, told investigators he was almost attacked by the dogs at 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 13. Hamrick said he walked out to go to the gym and saw the dogs at the end of his driveway. He said the dogs began barking and growling at him and then ran toward him. Hamrick ran to his truck for safety and left for the gym but did not report what happened to law enforcement or animal control.
John McDaniel told a detective that about 20 minutes before the Jan. 13 attack, the two dogs entered his property and snarled at him in his driveway. McDaniel had his pocket knife out and yelled at the dogs, which eventually ran off. He said every time the dogs were loose he would drive over and tell Franco, but he said he never contacted law enforcement or animal control. He said it was common for Franco’s front gate to be open, which allowed the dogs to easily leave.
Danielle Elder lived directly south of Franco’s residence. Elder said “the dogs have caused ongoing issues due to their violent tendencies,” according to the affidavit.
Elder said that Camo jumps Franco’s fence continuously or digs under it to escape her yard. “Camo enters her yard daily and has violent tendencies primarily towards male figures.” But she said she never called animal control because she would allow Camo to play with their dog if he was out.
Elder stated “these violent tendencies include growling and barking toward her family.” She said she has never seen Camo physically attack anyone. But “Danielle believed Camo could attack and cause great bodily harm,” according to the affidavit.
Elder said that she had had “numerous issues” with the gray-colored pit bull, Kronos. Danielle said that on Nov. 29, 2024, Kronos escaped Franco’s property and got into Elder’s chicken coop. Kronos “bit through the chicken wire and killed each chicken,” the affidavit states.
Elder did not notify animal control or law enforcement about the incident, the affidavit stated.
Elder provided messages to the detective that she sent to Franco about the dead chickens. Franco responded by saying she would buy Elder new chickens once she is sure her dogs cannot escape, according to the affidavit. Franco also said she would finish installing an electric fence and was having her pen repaired to prevent the dogs escaping.
Franco responded in the messages that she was aware of blue nose pit bulls going after chickens. Franco messaged Elder “I just wanna make sure that he can’t do this again. Cause if he got anyone else’s animals and they wanted to have him put down. It would kill me.”
Elder said she would see the dogs out “multiple days at a time” without Franco or Hodil returning home and Elder said she was unsure if the dogs had food or water during that time, the affidavit stated.
Elder said the dogs would continuously bark at her when she walked to her chicken coop in the backyard. She said she would be “terrified” and would bring a gun in case the dogs attacked, the affidavit stated.
Elder said that about 4:10 p.m. on Jan. 13 she saw on her Ring camera that Camo and Kronos were on her property. Elder messaged Franco nine minutes later on Facebook messenger to get her dogs. But Franco never responded. Elder provided screenshots of the messages and video of the dogs on her property.
Elder said that at about 4:43 on Jan. 13 she messaged Franco’s roommate Hodil about the dogs running loose. Hodil responded that she would retrieve both dogs once she returned home, the affidavit stated.
Elder and Jesse Felix said both dogs have caused “multiple issues and were aggressive toward their family.” They said they feared for the safety of their 2-year-old daughter due to their “past interactions with the dogs.”
Neighbors feel threatened by dogs
Detectives also spoke to Lindsay and Brian Badcock on Airport Road. They moved to a house just north of Franco in January 2021. Lindsay said the black and white dog “doesn’t shut up, ever,” and they’ve been having problems with the dog the past few weeks. The black and white dog comes into the yard “all the time” and Brian Badcock tried to scare the dog off multiple times. The dog either runs off or walks toward him. He said that “when it gets close enough it starts lunging at you.”
Within the past few weeks, Lindsay Badcock and her 14-year-old daughter rode their golf cart to their property’s corner to try to scare off the black and white dog. But “the dog lunged at the golf cart, took a widened stance and began growling,” the affidavit stated. She said she had been telling her husband that she was going to end up shooting the dog.
Lindsay Badcock said that on Jan. 13 she saw the black and white dog loose. She said she was in fear of the dog so she returned to her property to close the gate to protect her 14-year-old daughter, the affidavit stated. She said the dog chased her and her husband in their vehicle “all the way to their gate,” the affidavit stated.
Tammy Weiss lives off Darbonne Road, which is right behind Airport Road. Weiss was crying and said the two dogs had been on her property just before she heard about the attack. She said that about 4:30 on Jan. 13, her roosters drew her attention. She checked and saw the pit bull had her chickens “pinned.” The black and white dog was “chasing cats.”
She yelled for her husband to “get the gun.” She fired one shot into the ground and the dogs ran off. She said for the past three weeks she heard “nonstop barking” from Franco’s property. Franco’s grandmother is her landlord.
Thomas Stover, who lives on Darbonne Road, said about two years ago he went to Franco’s property and the “pit bull had to be restrained due to it snarling at him,” the affidavit stated.
Charles Linder contacted the sheriff’s office on Jan. 21 and said he had multiple incidents with the two dogs. He said in August 2024 he was cutting the grass on his riding mower at one of the houses off Arabesque Drive when he saw the pit bull approaching him.
Linder said the pit bull tried to bite his leg as he rode the mower. Linder said he called animal control but never made physical contact with anyone. He said he did not know who owned the dogs.
Ex-roommate says pit bull’s attitude changed
Tammy Partin called the sheriff’s office and said she was a former roommate of Franco’s. She said Franco got Kronos when he was a puppy and “he had always been a good dog.”
Partin said that Franco started dating Hodil and the two got into arguments and “physical altercations.” The pit bull would step between them. Partin said Franco would “divert her aggression” toward the dog and would hit the dog, according to the affidavit.
Partin said that would cause the dog to “cower” in Partin’s room. She said prior to Franco dating Hodil she had not seen any violence from the pit bull. She said she had no interaction with the other dog which belonged to Hodil who would take the dog back to Ocala with her. Partin moved out around September 2024. She said that just before she moved out she could tell that the pit bull’s attitude was changing but she could not say how or what she saw to based that comment on, the affidavit stated.
Detectives spoke to Henry Watson III who said he was a roommate’s of Hodil’s in Ocala. He said that he was familiar with the dog named Camo and said he did not think the dog was aggressive.
Pattern of dogs running loose
Detectives checked with Volusia County Animal Services where records showed that Franco owned five other dogs since 2013. Franco had reclaimed four different dogs between 2013 and 2017, which had been loose, captured by animal control and taken to the Humane Society. The detective wrote that it showed a pattern over a dozen years of Franco owning multiple dogs which repeatedly escaped her property.
A detective found a picture attached to Franco’s Google account from a Facebook message with her neighbor Danielle on Dec. 2, 2024. “Danielle mentions she is not bothered by Camo because he normally plays with her dogs. Franco states ‘I don’t mind letting him loose. But I’m getting ready to go to group and he’ll try to follow me. I’m gonna see if I can put him in the pin and ditch him. He’ll get out but it gives me enough time to sneak away. Lol.’”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Dogs terrorized neighborhood before fatal attack on 8-year-old near DeLand
Reporting by Frank Fernandez, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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