Dowdy guilty in dog mauling deaths
RUSSELLVILLE — A Franklin County jury found Brandy Dowdy guilty of one count of manslaughter and one count of criminally negligent homicide after more than two hours of deliberation Friday night.
Dowdy, 42, faced two counts of manslaughter in the deaths of Michelle Ann Sheeks and Jacqueline Summer Beard, an employee with the Alabama Department of Public Health. Both women died after being attacked in April 2022 by a pack of dogs owned by Dowdy.
The 12 jurors found Dowdy guilty of manslaughter in the case of Beard’s death but opted for the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide in Sheeks’ death.
The jury also found Dowdy guilty of two vio- lations of Emily’s Law — a statute passed in 2018 aimed at bringing owners of violent dogs to justice.
Dowdy’s bond was revoked, and she was immediately taken into custody by law enforcement.
She will be sentenced in January and faces up to 41 total years in prison.
As the verdict was read, several jurors and family members of both Dowdy and the victims appeared emotional.
Over the course of the trial, which spanned two weeks and was the second-longest on record in Franklin County, a total of 25 witnesses were called by both the prosecution and defense.
Franklin County District Attorney Jeff Barksdale praised the families of the victims, along with law enforcement who played a role in the investigation after the verdict.
“Our thoughts remain with the families of Michelle Sheeks and Summer Beard,” Barksdale said. “I hope these verdicts bring them some peace.”
Barksdale also recognized the family of Emily Covin, whose namesake law helped provide a legal basis for the case.
While one of the manslaughter charges resulted in a conviction, Barksdale said he is hopeful the verdict provided some sense of relief to the families of Sheeks and Beard.
“They have been here every single day in these two weeks,” Barksdale said. “We know how much Michelle and Summer meant and we hope that these verdicts bring peace and closure to the families.”
Dowdy defense attorney Jessica Bugge did not speak to the media following the conclusion of the trial.
Bugge had plenty to say after the defense rested earlier Friday afternoon. She told the media present that she believed the jury would “fully acquit” Dowdy.
“The fact that there’s been no one who has substantiated which dogs created what injuries to either of the victims, and that they’re stray dogs and can’t establish ownership of the dogs on the property, there should have never been charges brought,” Bugge said.
During closing statements, Barksdale replayed body camera footage in which Dowdy said she “was worried something like this would happen,” in reference to the attack from the dogs that resulted in the death of Sheeks.
As for the defense, Bugge continued to try and pin the ownership of the dogs on others. She also accused the prosecution of distorting the true nature of the case, believing the State owed Dowdy “an apology” for its claims.
