Judge grants attorney’s request to withdraw

RUSSELLVILLE — Brandy Dowdy’s original attorney will no longer be part of her case moving forward.

Birmingham-based attorney Jessica Bugge filed a motion to withdraw as Dowdy’s counsel on Wednesday and Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Brian Hamilton subsequently granted the motion.

Bugge’s filing comes just 24 hours before she was scheduled to appear in court after Hamilton issued an order demanding she be present for Dowdy’s status hearing on April 30.

Dowdy was originally scheduled to learn her sentence on Jan. 9, but Bugge failed to appear in court for the sentencing. It took more than seven-and-ahalf hours for members of the Franklin County District Attorney’s office and Hamilton to contact Bugge to determine her whereabouts.

Eventually, the parties learned Bugge had a “medical emergency,” which required her to seek treatment.

Hamilton rescheduled the sentencing for April 28.

At a status hearing on April 11, Hamilton granted a motion to continue the sentencing filed by Dowdy’s new attorney, J. Shane Cook, who was appointed as her additional attorney after Bugge’s failure to appear in January. Cook said he needed more time to review the case.

During the April 11 hearing, Hamilton said Bugge was notified of the hearing but again did not show up to court.

Cook told the court upon being appointed as Dowdy’s attorney, he attempted several times to contact Bugge via email and text message. However, Bugge allegedly did not respond to Cook until 30 minutes before the April 11 hearing.

Dowdy told Hamilton she had not “heard from” Bugge in approximately five-and-a-half months.

Dowdy, 42, was charged with two counts of manslaughter in the March 2022 deaths of Michelle Ann Sheeks and Jacqueline Summer Beard, an employee with the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Both Sheeks and Beard were killed by dogs living on Dowdy’s property.

In November 2025, a Franklin County jury found Dowdy guilty of manslaughter in the death of Beard but opted for the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide in Sheeks’ death.

While a new sentencing date has still not been set, a status hearing to see if Dowdy’s new attorney is up to speed with the case will be held on May 8 at 10 a.m.