“My stepson just got bit in the throat or the side by the neck by a dog. His whole entire face was like… I want to know why… Please don’t touch me. I didn’t do this wrong. I can’t. You guys don’t understand how bad this is going to get.”
On August 17th, 2024, a 6-year-old boy is mauled in a vicious pitbull attack. While his family attempts to hide the terrible truth, an unexpected discovery unravels one of the most sinister crimes the county has ever seen. “If I had seen that, I would have lost my mind.”
The following is based on official police records and most of the footage has never been seen before until now. It’s Saturday afternoon when Ashland County dispatchers in Savannah, Ohio received the distressing 911 call.
“911, location of your emergency.”
“Uh, yeah. Um, my stepson just got bit in the throat or the side of the neck by a dog. It’s bad.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s on his neck and his ear. Put pressure on it. Okay, cool.”
“Don’t let up. Keep pressure on it.”
“What kind of dog is it?”
“I wouldn’t make… It’s a EMT, so I’m kind of doing the best I can with what I got right now. Ma’am,”
“How old is he?”
“Six.”
“Baby, look at me. I cannot wake up.”
“We’re keeping him alert.”
“Is the dog still there?”
“Yes. Uh, the owner has a hold of him currently.”
“Did you say that the patient, he’s not alert anymore?”
“He is. He’s still, um, he is gurgling.”
“Gurgling.”
“Yeah. Uh, I want to say, I want to say the last station. Uh, you can… Okay. You can see the damn near the bone. You’re okay, buddy.”
“You’re okay.”
“No. No. No. The dog’s not on you. You’re good though. Go inside. Easy. Easy. Careful. I’m on your way.”
With no way of knowing when an ambulance will arrive, they make the split-second decision to transport the child themselves and meet emergency responders along the way.
“No, you’re okay. We’re more worried about your neck, buddy.”
“Ready?”
“I will take the drop and I will get in there. I need you to hold this on your neck very firmly.”
“Um, my hands.”
“Look at me, baby.”
“Is he like bleeding through the… You can see a little bit of tendon. Um, it’s through the… Hang on.”
“Don’t worry. I got…”
“Hang on. Hang on. I guess we’re heading towards the Ashland Hospital now.”
“No, no, no. We’re going to the fire station, right? That’s where we’re going.”
“I guess the fire station.”
“Yeah, we’re going to the fire station in Savannah. That’s where we’re going.”
“I hear them.”
“Are you guys going to station or do you want them to meet you at the…”
“They should see us. They should see us.”
Carrying the six-year-old boy in their arms, two frantic adults flag down a responding deputy. Together, they begin a desperate attempt to save the child’s life.
“Hey, buddy. Do you know you’re… Holy… are you?”
“Six.”
“Six.”
“You’re not getting sleepy, are you?”
“Yeah. You’re wide awake on me.”
“Keep those eyes open. You’re doing good, man. I’m really proud of you. You are a trooper, dude.”
“Dude, no joke. Do you have any cuts on his left side?”
“Yes. Smaller. They’re smaller. These ones are the worst.”
“Just take some steps back for me. Okay. Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Yeah, we’re good. We got… We got EMS right here. Thank you.”
“Hey guys, we got some severe lacerations on the right neck. Small on… the left side’s the most severe. Left side’s more severe.”
“Just getting in the truck.”
“I’m just trying to maintain pressure on that right… your eyes open. Okay, buddy.”
“Your eyes open, buddy.”
“You’re okay. Hey, guess what? You get to ride in the ambulance, dude. That is pretty cool. Yeah.”
“Hey, I got to let go of his right side.”
“Yeah. Ready? Go.”
“Hey, grab your shirt.”
“Oh, you’re okay, bud. You’re so tough, man.”
“I’ll text you all the information.”
“I’ll text everything.”
With the child secured in the ambulance, the deputy takes a brief moment to confirm the identities of the two adults and gather urgent information.
“So, go quick. Can I get your driver’s license? What’s your relation to the whole scene?”
“I am his… I’m his mom’s boyfriend.”
“Mom’s boyfriend. Okay. And your dad, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
“Yes. Yeah. Okay. Cool.”
“You’re good. You go with him. Okay. Here’s the deal. I’m going to keep you for a little bit cuz I have to get some kind of information. We’ll get you over there at some point. Okay. But…”
“Well, I know his mom’s at the house trying to… like she’s freaking out.”
“Okay. So, she’s at the house right now.”
“Yes.”
“Does she have the dog with her?”
“No. Her uncle took him somewhere. We don’t know.”
“You don’t know? Okay. So, he just took the dog and took off. Okay. So, here’s the deal. I’m going to follow you to the house. Okay. That’s where you’re going?”
“Yes, sir. Uh, I’m just going to follow you to the house. Okay.”
Dylan, who has identified himself as the boy’s father, accompanies him to the hospital. The deputy then follows 29-year-old Taylor Desiree Marvin Brown back to the residence where the attack took place.
“Where’s my phone and where’s my…”
“Hey, hello.”
“Hey, I’m Deputy Derry, your mom.”
The child’s mother, 28-year-old Angelina Williams, gives no response.
“You okay? Well, I mean, I obviously know, but I mean, you look a little lost there. Are you okay? Um, struggling. I get it.”
“I feel like it’s all my fault.”
“Okay. Tell you what, here, let’s have a seat. Okay. You don’t… I’m not going to make you stand up for any of this. Okay. So, you said you feel like it’s your fault. What… What was going on?”
“Um, I wasn’t… They were here picking up trash.”
“Okay. Like in the yard. Okay.”
“Stray dog got loose.”
“Stray dog. Okay. Guess it’s not your dog. Okay. Like, like a neighborhood dog. You guys seen it around before? You don’t even know. Okay. Um, so stray dog got loose. You guys like trying to hang on to it or something or was it…”
“We were trying to… So my son was having a fit. Must they hit his face bleeding and the dog went right for him?”
“The your kid hit the dog in the face or the dog hit…”
“We… My son has autism.”
“Okay.”
“And he was having a meltdown and he must have ended up… he end up throwing himself to the ground. Must have hit his face.”
“Okay. And there’s blood and then the dog and then the dog went for him. Okay. Why did you say you think that’s your fault?”
“I… my responsibility.”
“I get, I get that. That’s like… that’s that’s…”
“Hey, that… that’s not your… like I know it’s your responsibility, but that’s not your fault. Okay.”
Though the deputy’s compassion seems well-placed, the disturbing revelations to come will soon change his tone entirely. For now, his attention turns to the child’s grandmother, who’s covered in blood.
“Do you want me to get you like some hand sanitizer, something? Something to clean up.”
“I washed it off. It keeps bleeding.”
“Are you bleeding?”
“I had my hands in the dog’s mouth trying to get…”
“Do you want to have a seat? Okay. Okay. And someone already took the dog. The dog’s not here. Do you… Do you want someone to come check that out? No,”
“We don’t know. The dog.”
“It might be broken.”
“It might be broken.”
“Pretty sure. Yeah.”
“Let’s… Let’s have someone just come look at it. Okay.”
Medics are called to examine her hand. Meanwhile, Taylor speaks with a deputy in private, sharing horrific details about the attack that raise new suspicions.
“I got blood on my face at all. Probably my arm. Good. I can just taste it. That’s why.”
“Nothing on your face, but you got some on your arms. Obviously, your pants.”
“Yeah.”
“Legs.”
“So, was anybody around when this happened or did they see it happen?”
“Well, he started licking them and then next thing you know, he falls to the floor, you know, cuz the dog’s a pitbull. Sweet dog. Never done this before as far as I, um… and then we were yelling for Bobby as soon as he grabbed Don, calling for her uncle. He came running in. It was just four adults trying to get one big dog off of…”
“Was it the right side of the neck or left side? Both.”
“Yeah. You… It’s so… You get him like right here? I want to say like this around the throat because I didn’t see any lacerations to like his trachea and everything. Mainly lacerations to the side of his neck near like his carotid. I’m very surprised that dog missed his carotid, um, but it’s like through and through like pieces of skin.”
Taylor’s statements about the dog being sweet and having never done this before contradict Angelina, who insists the animal was an unknown stray. But this isn’t the only detail that doesn’t line up. Angelina told one deputy the attack happened somewhere in the yard.
“I just know where they were yelling from.”
“That’s her.”
“So, you just know it’s somewhere back here?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
However, by Taylor’s account, the attack took place inside.
“So, who all was in the house when this happened?”
“You, obviously.”
“My girlfriend, who is his mom.”
“Okay.”
“That’s her mom. And the guy who owns the house is her uncle Bobby.”
“So, he was in there as well.”
“Yes.”
With their stories failing to align, it seems clear that someone is hiding the truth. As the rain drives them onto the porch, the boy’s seven-year-old sister asks about her brother.
“Yeah, he’s a pretty brave dude.”
“Faster than I can.”
“Is he okay though?”
“I think he’ll be okay.”
“Way faster than…”
“I just talked to daddy.”
“He’s okay. So, who is the owner of the dog or who has the dog?”
“We don’t know. We don’t know the dog.”
“Who… who called 911?”
“I think…”
“I don’t know. Call 911.”
“Okay,”
“I’m holding the dog.”
“I was on top of…”
“All right, we’ll figure it out.”
Though the adults constantly interrupt her, the young girl will soon have the chance to speak openly with deputies. For now, her mother, Angelina, grows increasingly nervous.
“I’m starting to get real uncomfortable. I have PTSD.”
“Why do you feel uncomfortable, ma’am?”
“Because I have PTSD and there’s too many of you and I don’t know a single one of you.”
“Well, this is an emergency situation. So, generally, there’s going to be a lot of people around.”
After giving Angelina and Taylor a moment to collect themselves, they call the deputy over again, ready to explain why they believe Angelina should be allowed to leave.
“The guy that went with him isn’t his biological dad. He has no choice to make medical decisions. She has to be there.”
“Okay. Well, I can tell you they’re starting LifeFlight as a precaution.”
“Then we need to go.”
“Yeah. Then he can’t be making medical decisions for my kid. That is what…”
“He is… He has no legal right my son. No,”
“Calm down,”
“Because I’m pretty much… I’m pretty much the…”
“Let me explain something to you. In an emergency situation, you know,”
“He is not a relative.”
“Can I… Can I explain this?”
“But you’re wrong. Medical decisions have to be made by a family member.”
“In an emergency situation, he’s making… I’m not… No. In an emergency situation, the squad members of the squad can make a decision if necessary.”
“Biological family member present.”
“You can sit here and argue with me all day about it. And if you need to go be with your child, we can, you know, interview and all that at a later time. I never said I was following you, ma’am. And I am not traumatizing you. You’re doing that on your own.”
Angelina heads for the backyard, but their conversation is far from over. Meanwhile, the deputy continues to question Taylor.
“Two quick questions. Who is the owner of the property?”
“All I know is Bob. I don’t know how to pronounce his last name.”
“That’s someone’s uncle. Whose uncle is it?”
“It’s your uncle.”
“It’s my mom’s. So,”
“So grandma’s brother. Okay, perfect. Where’s mom at?”
“In the back.”
“Mom went to the back.”
As the deputy heads to the backyard, he’s joined on speaker phone by the county dog warden who listens in.
“Hey, mom. I need to talk to you real quick. I don’t… I know, but I got to talk to you.”
“For what?”
“So, here’s the deal. The dog warden… look, the dog warden’s going to have to come out. So, we got, we got these dogs. You’re not… I’m not saying anything about these dogs. I’m saying if the dog doesn’t show up though, someone’s going to end up going to jail.”
“I don’t have the dog. It’s a stray dog.”
“But your uncle does.”
“Her uncle took him somewhere. We don’t know.”
“I don’t know what your…”
“But… so where, where’d Bobby go?”
“I don’t know. He’s my uncle. Do you question your elders? Probably not.”
“I mean, if they’re at my house.”
“No, I have kids.”
“Okay. So Bobby showed up, took the dog, and disappeared. He’s not allowed to take his dog anywhere.”
“So, it’s Bobby’s dog.”
“That’s right.”
“Obstruction.”
After catching the lie, the deputy returns to Taylor to see who else is hiding the truth.
“Hey, Taylor. So, whose dog is it? Be be honest, cuz it’s it’s about to get bad. Be honest. I’m… I’m giving you a chance. Be honest.”
“Her uncle’s down. Okay, so good news, you’re not getting a summons for falsification. Bad news is she is because she didn’t want to tell the truth.”
When the dog warden arrives, he reminds Angelina that he is a sworn officer of the law and delivers a sharp warning about lying to them again.
“I need to know a couple things. Um, I need I need to know the dog’s whereabouts now.”
“We don’t know.”
“That’s not going to… That’s not going to…”
“We can’t… We really…”
“We don’t. Yeah, but I heard you on the phone with him. What did he say the dog was?”
“You… what? I don’t know what else to do instead of try talking about his mental health issues.”
“Yeah.”
“My uncle is liable to… in the head.”
“Yeah. Okay. With this dog.”
“Very attached to this. This is why we’re trying to tell you. We don’t know. Can you call in for me?”
“She’s not going to tell us. It’s… keep trying to tell us.”
“I’ve only been with her for like four months. I was talking about somebody is autistic, homicidal… press. This is what you’re discussing with me.”
“Well, you were on the phone with them, my understanding.”
“I wasn’t. No,”
“You won’t talk to us.”
“Who was on the phone with him?”
“I wasn’t.”
“Who are you on the phone with in the backyard then? Please don’t, don’t…”
“I’m not going to lie to you. The kid’s aunt. The person that they live with full time. Okay. Call her and let her know, too, which I’m legally obligated to do.”
“Yes. Okay.”
Deputies learned that Angelina has no legal custody of either child. It remains unclear whether their biological father is known or was contacted following the incident. What is clear, however, is that both children live in New York with their adoptive guardian and were only in Ohio for a short visit. Angelina and her children were staying with Bobby temporarily while they were in town.
“Yeah. Here’s, here’s the deal. So, Taylor, you’re honest with me. You told the truth from the front. Grandma, you told the truth. Angela, you didn’t. All right. So, here’s the deal. I’m going to cut you a… I know. I get you’re trying to protect family. I get that.”
“I… I wasn’t even really sure what… really you knew for a fact it wasn’t a stray dog. All right. That’s not even up for the question. You knew that. Okay. You said you didn’t know where the dog was from. You didn’t know who owned the dog. Both of those are lies. Okay. And that interferes with us being able to do our job, which has a lot to do with protecting your son.”
The summons orders Angelina to appear in court for obstructing their investigation, but they’re about to learn she’s been hiding something far worse. Adding to their concerns, deputies had received reports of shouting at this residence during the past week.
“My daughter thought it was funny to sneak around the house and hide from us. Okay. So, you guys were yelling around looking for your daughter. Okay. And then, um, the day prior, um, my kids locked my dog, um, up in a storage and I thought maybe he got out. Okay. So you were yelling looking for a dog. Okay, that’s fine. Like I just… I just want to make sure cuz we heard there was a lot of yelling going on and now all of a sudden there’s a dog bite so we just…”
“And I went and I talked to the mayor.”
“Okay.”
Once they step inside the home, deputies find chilling evidence that doesn’t match the story they’ve been told: a bloodstained chair, a rope, and a child’s hoodie stained with blood. While it’s clear something far more sinister has taken place here, deputies reluctantly leave the property with no dog and no clear answers for what truly happened to the child. The decision is then made to head to the hospital and try to speak with the boy himself. Before they leave, his sister has one more question for deputies.
“Wolf stitches.”
“I think so. I don’t know, though. I saw blood on the carpet.”
“Yeah, it looks like you have a little blood on you.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah. Were you helping?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you for helping him.”
“I was trying to know, but I didn’t make it in time.”
“It’s okay. You tried your best. That’s all that matters. Okay. Thank you for helping. You did a good job. All right. High five. High five. Thank you.”
At the hospital, Dylan has remained by the side of the recovering six-year-old, a child who against all odds survived the attack. What the boy reveals next changes everything.
“So, what was happening?”
“Those… there’s handcuffs. The… There’s metals. There’s metal ones. Uh-huh. And there’s black ones. And there’s pink ones. Yeah. And, and I was getting the feet and hands on.”
“You were handcuffed. Did you do it or did they do it?”
“I was acting up and they handcuffed you. Okay.”
“Yeah.”
“Where did they… where did they put the cuffs at?”
“My hands and my feet.”
“So when the dog came and grabbed you, was it barking or growling or…”
“No, it just jumped on my neck and wouldn’t let go. And wouldn’t let go.”
“Yeah. And then my… And then my dad hold screaming and then he came running in. Yeah. And then looked at my neck and then I was outside laying down on my daddy and my sister came out and was screaming.”
“Uh-huh. Did the policeman help you?”
“Yeah.”
“Did he help you?”
“That’s awesome.”
“And then the ambulance came after the police officer and they helped you.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
“Um, I’m sorry, buddy, if I cry here. Yeah, it’s because the dog… doesn’t tell them that it’s okay to have big emotions, right? Um, I’m really sorry this happened to you, bud. I promise you, I, I’m I’m going to… People who did this will get in trouble. Okay. Even big guys have emotions. As a dad, I’m really sorry, bud. Really sorry that happened to you. I’m going to be right back in here, bud.”
“I’m going to pause this for a second.”
The interview leaves the deputy in tears, but the full scope of the tragedy has yet to be fully uncovered. When Angelina arrives at the hospital, the deputy tries to question her, but she tells him she did nothing wrong and wants to be left alone. She also says her uncle has returned to the house, only the dog wasn’t with him. A deputy who is familiar with her uncle, 47-year-old Robert “Bobby” Makowski Jr., arrives in the middle of the night to find out what happened to the pitbull.
“I was going to hold on to him, but when I pulled over to Smith Woods cuz I stopped at Olivesburg to get water. I had no bucket of water. I had to get water. I pulled in the gravel road where I was in the shade. I got out. I was trying to get water. He took off with the deer. Whatever.”
Bobby offers to let the deputy inside, but he declines. The next day, investigators return with a search warrant, hoping to find the handcuffs the young boy described. They’ll soon find far more than they expected, but not without push back from Angelina.
“I have a search warrant for your house.”
“I need to see it. I need to see that part because this ain’t got nothing to do with… because I didn’t even know y’all were going to be.”
“So, I’m going to need to take step back. I’m going to be as nice as I can. I’m going to be as cooperative as I can.”
Angelina fights to keep control, but soon learns this will not go her way.
“Can you come down here for us, son?”
“Can you all back up? PTSD… come down here. Either come down or we’re going to bring you in.”
“Please don’t touch me. This… Please detain you.”
“Please do. No, because he’s going to run and I have no reason to detain you.”
“We’re going to detain you. So, come down here.”
“I need to make a phone call.”
“Ma’am, you’re going to get detained. You need to step off the board.”
“GOING TO BITE ME.”
“YES. IT’S WHY I ASKED you to move.”
“Come down here.”
“You’re not going to get a chain. Slayer, sit.”
“I need to call my mom. I want to know why. I… Please don’t touch me. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Sheriff’s office. Step outside. Sheriff’s office. Who else is here? All right, come with me, buddy. I’m just going to guide you out. Okay. I’m just grabbing your wrist. There’s nothing wrong. You’re good. Want to grab your wrist?”
“Hey, Bobby. I’m gonna grab your wrist. Okay, bud. Just want to guide you out. Okay.”
Deputies are careful with Bobby as a propane explosion years ago left him scarred and disabled. But once they realized the pitbull has now mysteriously returned to the house, Bobby begins to resist.
“Don’t start this. Hear me? Come over here and sit down. Stop. Sit down. Sit. My father. Sit. I’m a handicap man. What do you think I’m going to do?”
“I’ll put you in a cruiser if I have to. If you’re not going to control yourself, you can either sit here. Listen to me. You’re either going to sit here and be nice. I’m going to put you in the back of a car. Which one do you want? Do you want to sit in the back of a cruiser?”
“I’m trying to… I’m trying to get you to just sit down and relax for a few minutes while we do what we need to do.”
“Can… Can you… I’ve been calm. Can I speak, please? Because I’ve been real nice about this whole thing and I’ve asly possibly can. That dog is a special kind of dog. That dog is trained to protect my uncle at all costs. That’s what’s going on up there. And that is what’s going on now. The minute he sees Bobby, he is going to stop and you’re going to be able to gain access to him. If you kill my daughter, it’s going to have to… without even talking about anything. We are talking about taking pictures of something.”
“Okay. Well, we… when you guys showed up and that’s kind of why I asked the questions I originally started asking. All I asked for all but a couple of y’all just to take a few steps back.”
“No, we don’t.”
“That’s all I had asked you.”
“The thing is, we… you… you don’t control this situation right now. We are in control of this.”
“Okay. But you are trying to control everything and you… and you’re not… it’s not going to happen.”
“Not trying to control anything.”
“Yes, you are. By telling us that we need to back up, by telling us what we need to do. That’s not… that’s not how this works. Mental health issues are a form of my right. That is my right.”
Inside, deputies follow the sounds of barking coming from upstairs.
“Is that the one that bit him?”
“Huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Be a shame if they tried to attack one of us.”
“It sounds angry.”
“Yeah. It doesn’t sound happy about this. Did you check both of these rooms?”
“Yeah. I… I’d take that shield if you’re…”
“Yeah, give me that shield down there in the bottom of the catcher.”
“We need a fire extinguisher is what we need.”
“I’m sure we have some, don’t we? Or a taser or a shield or a gun or…”
Choosing not to approach the animal with lethal force, deputies rely on just a shield and a dog pole as they slowly open the door.
“Not here. Another room. There’s a little… stuck. Oh, he tried to hide it.”
The barking leads them to a small cabinet blocked with chairs, which have to be removed one at a time before they can open the door. Using the shield for cover, they work to slip the dog pole around the animal’s neck.
“Hold on. Hold on. Don’t move that yet. Let’s see what he does. Hey, buddy. P’s tightened down. All right, we’re going to have to keep that in front of me. He’s going to go after me. Let everybody know we’re coming out with him.”
“It’s okay.”
“You said you’re okay, baby.”
“I’m not going to do nothing.”
“I told you to back up. Give me order.”
“I hear you. That dog’s not going to hurt you. He will hurt you. You guys to protect me. I love you, Mason. Can I hook my goddamn dog? Can you hold my hand so I can go talk to him through the window?”
“Yeah, give us a minute. I will let you talk to your dog. Just give us a minute. Okay,”
“I don’t care about nobody else beside my dog.”
“I get it, man. I got a dog. I get it.”
The pitbull, whose name is Mason, is placed in the back of a squad car while Bobby feigns ignorance.
“He… He was fine up there.”
“He was barking in the cubby. That’s why we… to get in a cubby door.”
“He was all in there. Is there another way in there?”
“No, they’re just magnet doors shut. So, he must have went in there. Look at…”
“Well, there’s… Well, there’s chairs in front of it.”
“He can climb.”
“He’s saying he was putting the dog up in the attic, but he didn’t put him in the cubby, but that door’s got the door shut. So, he thinks the dog… he says the dog went in there on its own.”
“I don’t know how it went up there because there’s chairs in the… There have been misconceptions and lies.”
“Well, hey, hey, in 2023, there was a call up here before and there’s evolving a dog and him and he says the dog ran away.”
“That was last year. So, you tell me. Why did no one tell me about this one?”
The warden explains that Mason will be classified as a dangerous dog and impounded for the duration of the case. Bobby is then allowed one last emotional goodbye.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I love you. You’re not going to hurt me. You’re not going to hurt me. I love you, buddy. I love you. Please. Be good. Please. I can’t miss you.”
While executing the search warrant, deputies find the handcuffs described by the child along with a set of keys. Deputies ask Bobby about them and are met with a shocking response.
“What’s the deal with the handcuffs that are sitting on the counter right inside there?”
“Oh, when the kids start attacking each other, if one’s disciplined, the other one will call the other one to them just to attack them for no reason. And all it was was just to stop them from leaving and running around the house and do whatever they want. That’s all.”
“The handcuffs were for that.”
“Good. because if they keep going down that road, they’re going to end up criminals and handcuffs.”
Through a series of interviews, deputies will uncover the horrifying truth of what happened to the six-year-old boy and who is responsible for the attack that nearly ended his life. They begin with his mother, Angelina, who prefers to go by the shortened name Angel.
“Angel, right? Make sure… I’m not being rude. I guess much rather meet you guys on a different… I’d rather work with you than against you.”
“Okay, that’s right here. Just we’re going to talk. I’m scared. All I want to do… I know… is just go home service dog because I could really get him.”
The investigators explain that they need her side of the story and ask her to start from the beginning.
“My boyfriend was there. We’re all hanging out. We having a good time. The kids, they’re grounded. They got in trouble. My son didn’t want to listen outside.”
Though she didn’t elaborate on why, the six-year-old was able to explain further.
“Why did… What were you doing that they had to feel like they wanted to handcuff you?”
“I wasn’t cleaning up nature.”
“You weren’t cleaning up nature. Does that mean dog poop?”
“Yeah.”
“The dog pooped in the house and you didn’t clean it up? No, outside because we have dogs inside and outside. Okay. So, you weren’t cleaning up so they brought you inside and handcuffed you.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Who did that?”
“My mom.”
“She put both handcuffs on your feet and your hands.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you have… Does he have behavioral problems?”
“He does.”
“Okay. Is it… What is he?”
“He’s autistic.”
“Autistic. Okay.”
“Both of my children.”
“So, it’s got to be rough. I mean,”
“It is. So technically or how would you… how would you… how do you guys discipline?”
“Normally it’s in a chair in a room sitting down. Grounded will take TV away, take like treats away, take outside away, take anything you can think away. Normal basic grounding kid punishment.”
“Any other types of discipline that you guys use if he gets really out of hand? Like he’s… if he… like when he throws one of these fits he throws himself.”
“Oh, I… I know what you’re looking for. I… My uncle had told me that I could use handcuffs. Okay. I never thought that there would be anything wrong with that. Okay. Especially if he’s at risk of hurting himself or somebody else.”
As she continues, Angelina explains that her attempts to restrain her son came with challenges.
“He was hitting me, kicking me. He tried to bite my boyfriend. Um, and it was, uh, he sat my son in a chair and when my boyfriend went to readjust him, my son went to bite. I’m not going to lie. I’m a mom. I’m sure maybe you’re a parent, but biting… most parents a little pop in the mouth.”
“She smacked me in a cheek and then my nose and mouth started moving.”
“That was this time, right? It wasn’t that you hit somebody’s arm, was it?”
“No, she… No, I was trying to bite some my tail. My mom’s boyfriend and then that’s when she hit you. But you didn’t hit your nose on his arm.”
“My nose hit him.”
“Hit him or she hit you. Who hit you? What made your nose bleed?”
“My… I don’t know. It only happened is my start bleeding in my mouth and I was coughing up blood.”
Taylor was also asked about this particular incident.
“Did he try to bite you or did he bite you?”
“He tried to… he… he tried to… on, but he didn’t bite the arm. No. And that’s when I think he may have hit his nose and maybe that’s how his nose started bleeding.”
“But then it wasn’t because Angelina smacked him. No, she smacked him in the mouth, but it was just… she… she… she didn’t smack him that hard.”
“Why did they try to bite you?”
“Because he was trying to get up out of the chair.”
It’s uncertain whether the nose bleed was caused by Angelina striking him or by his face colliding with Taylor’s arm. What is clear, according to his sister, is that the dog was quick to notice.
“So Mason smelled the blood and went whipped all the way to the… he took one whiff of the blood and he went… and then he ran to and he grabbed his necks both sides and then grandma was trying to like get open mouth and then she got bit on her finger and unhold them. And now she has a band-aid. Um, and I’m sick now. Now he’s okay.”
“Yeah, he’s at the kids hospital now. He’s up and moving.”
The children’s grandmother also explains what happened just as the dog attacked and she tried to intervene.
“My grandson’s sitting on the floor and he’s crying and I’m… I’m looking at him. The dog’s right in front of me and I’m like, ‘What is that?’ And I had to take a closer look and I’m like, ‘Angel, he’s got a bloody nose.’ And then all of a sudden he coughs and blood pours out of his nose. And I started to panic and I was like, ‘Don’t get tissue now.’ And with him choking, I thought he was choking on blood.”
“Mhm. That’s not good, right? So the dog’s right in front of me and the dog’s turn this way. My grandson’s on this side and he’s sitting on the ground. So the head of the dog is level with my grandson. I’m standing up and as soon as he started to choke, I’m not paying attention to the dog. I go to grab him. the dogs bins back the other way, grabbed my grandson by the throat, and the next thing I know, I put my hands in in his mouth, and started holding the dog’s jaws and screaming for my brother.”
She explains that after she shouted for help, Bobby rushed in with Dylan, the man the children call their father. Dylan explains what he saw next.
“When you get there, where is he cuffed? In the front or the back? His hands were cuffed behind his back? hands were tucked behind his back.”
“Yes, this when I… when I said this kid was literally defenseless, I meant it. Wow, man. He’s alive. Um, I am shocked that this kid is alive because because that dog was literally less than 2 centimeters away from his jugular vein. Dude, I fully aware. How was his feet cuffed? Show me the feet. How was his feet? They… You know how he would like… he would… you know how like some person would have the cuffs in between, but they were normal like handcuffs. were like this.”
“Yeah. He was literally like this on the floor laying down. Yes. When, when I got Maria, can you show me on the floor what he was like? Um, he was… when I got on the floor, he was… he was like this dog here. Okay. Thank you. No problem. I like I told you, nobody’s safe. Just kid deserves justice.”
“I hope you mean that.”
“I do. As a father, should I killed that dog myself?”
As Dylan directs his fury at the dog, investigators confront Angelina and catch her in yet another lie.
“How did the dog end up in the room? Was she like, did she bring the dog in? Was the dog in there?”
“Oh, was there loose in the house?”
“Mhm.”
But according to her mother and uncle, letting the dog into the room was Angelina’s idea and a dangerous one.
“I was in the kitchen until she told me to open the door. I didn’t know anything about those handcuffs until I opened that door.”
“But I know my niece said it was okay. Open the door. He can come on in. The dog can come on in. Mason can come on in.”
“Okay. And I don’t… That’s an executive decision by me. They shouldn’t have made that decision on their own cuz that’s my dog and he’s trained to protect me. They don’t understand his triggers or anything like that. I’ve trained him not to… If there’s any kind of fighting, arguing, screaming, he wants it to stop.”
Taylor, however, presents a different theory as to why the dog attacked.
“I kind of blacked out because I thought he was just licking him at first because the dog’s never been aggressive towards… he’s a nanny dog. He’s protect kids. What we thought happened was when she went to go pick him up off the floor, he thought she was hurting him and instead of getting hurt, he got him.”
Whatever the reason, during the attack, the child’s hands and feet were locked in handcuffs, leaving him utterly defenseless.
“Did you see bleeding?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see cuffs on him when he was bleeding?”
“Mommy took them off. Okay. His whole his whole entire face was blood.”
“Yeah, I saw it.”
Still, despite multiple adults seeing the child handcuffed, none of them chose to tell law enforcement once they arrived.
“I asked her, I said… in front of him, I asked her, I said, ‘Why the is he wearing handcuffs?’ And he started to choke. And that’s when I went to… And I never got the answer before the dog turned.”
“When you guys were on the scene not telling us that, is somebody telling you not to say it? Someone telling you not to tell me about the cuffs?”
“No. Uh-uh. No. How did you decide to lie? I don’t mind telling you because for one thing, my grandson’s going to tell you.”
“He already did. Um, but why… I didn’t understand why you told me… cuz that changed everything right this morning when I got there. I’m not going to lie to you. I cried when I was interviewing him. It hurt me that bad.”
“That was the first time I saw her do that. I swear… he couldn’t defend himself.”
“Yeah, he couldn’t. And that’s what I was pissed about.”
Even Dylan withheld this information, a puzzling detail given his outrage at seeing the child restrained.
“And I and I… I had no idea about the handcuffs or anything like that. If I had seen that, I would have lost my mind. I would straight lost it, dude. So, but I was outside. All of a sudden, I heard the commotion. I heard everything go off. I was like, ‘What is going on?’ So, I… I went up to the house. Everyone’s screaming. And I get into the house and there it is. I got… I got Angel’s mom with her hand in between the dog’s jaw and his and throat. I see Bobby on the back, on, on the back trying to choke this dog out. And I immediately jumped in and took my hand and crushed this dog’s like throat trying to get this dog to release. All the while seeing my son handcuffed and not able to defend himself. Okay. And the more I think about that, the more I just get so pissed off and enraged that why the put handcuffs on a six-year-old boy. Cuz he was defenseless. He had no way to defend himself. Why?”
“Why did he lie to me?”
“Because I was protecting Angel at the time.”
“Did anybody tell you to do that?”
“No, I did it on my own. And knowing now that that was the wrong thing to do.”
Burdened by guilt, Dylan will soon reveal even more details he has kept hidden until now. Before he does, as questioning of Angelina continues, she makes a stunning admission about her use of the handcuffs.
“My daughter, and when I use them on my daughter, my daughter, she’s got a nasty habit, wholeheartedly punching herself in the face. My daughter at one point is recommended to wear a helmet. So, how many times have you had to use them on your daughter? Once, personally once.”
When they ask the seven-year-old girl herself, her answer leaves the deputy in disbelief.
“Can I ask you something? Have you ever seen anything that looks like these?”
“Yes.”
“Where have you seen these before?”
“I know how to use them.”
“Why do you… I mean how you… why do you why do you know how to use them?”
“So watch. Okay. Yeah. Like this.”
“Okay. Yeah. But how do you know that? My mom, my other mom did it before to me. Put it on you. Like that on the back. The silver ones.”
“The silver ones like these. So you did… you had handcuffs put on you before?”
“Yeah. Mom. Which other mom?”
“Angel. When did she do that to you?”
“When I was grounded. When I was grounded. Mhm. My, I guess my hope in doing it, even the couple times I did it was, uh, in hopes that maybe when she’s older, she doesn’t end up in trouble.”
“So the cuffs aren’t only just to restrain them. It’s like a deterrence for being arrested by us. Is that what you’re like?”
“That was the hope. And they were never even as tight as like you guys put them on. New York, they could pretty much almost slip their wrists out. There has been times where my kids have laughed and they… It’s a game. It’s a game. But they know it’s like discipline, right? They know they’re in trouble.”
“Well, we hope. Yeah. But Okay. Okay. The thing with autism is is they don’t process like we do. They process things differently. So being handcuffed to them, they think it’s funny.”
“Yeah. They know it’s supposed to be a punishment, but it’s funny.”
“Yeah.”
But the investigators aren’t laughing. Based on the rope found at the crime scene and the children’s own account, it appears as though more than just handcuffs were used to restrain them.
“Have you ever been tied to a chair? You have. Who tied you to a chair?”
“Angel. Yes.”
“When were you tied to a chair? Do you remember? That was like a few days ago. Yeah. When I was grounded. Were you scared?”
“My arms was completely big up here. Yeah. How did she tie you around the chair? So, she tied me into a chill like she wrapped me around… your arms around like together like this. Like so like this. No, I was like… like this.”
“Yes. Like this?”
“Mhm. And, and did they wrap that? Do they wrap her? No, not like this. Or this. I was legs. I was sitted with my leg with my legs like this. And, um, she was wrapping me alone to my orange. My hands was not on my on my lap and she was grabbing me. Wow. Did it hurt?”
“Yes. When it was rubbing on my skin.”
“Were you crying?”
“I say, ‘Let me go.'”
The presence of the rope at the crime scene raises the possibility it might have been intended to secure the handcuffed six-year-old to the chair before his attack.
“Um, did they tell you they were going to tie you up with that rope?”
“No, I just hold them. I was holding it. Tie.”
“Who is… anybody holding it when they said that? Ter is mommy’s boyfriend.”
“Did you hold him down like while Angelina put him in handcuffs? No.”
“Or did he sat there?”
“He just let her put him on.”
“Yeah, because it wasn’t the first time.”
“So he just knew.”
“He… He knew that. And was it… It was hands and feet, right?”
“He didn’t fight it. He sat… he… he sat there. Did you ever have any conversation with Angel that it might be inappropriate to handcuff a six-year-old autistic child behind the back?”
“Yeah, it’s wrong. I… I felt bad, you know. I really did. I don’t… I can’t discipline the kids. I got told by the guardian and her… I… I don’t discipline those kids.”
“But you did say that you did… you held him down in the chair, held his head back while he’s handcuffed behind his back. It sounds to me like you’re assisting the business plan.”
“Yeah. I’m be honest with you. You’re going to be going to the county jail tonight. Ashland County. Okay. Well, let’s walk over here. Okay.”
As Angelina faces the reality of her own imminent arrest, panic sets in.
“I’m staying here, ain’t I?”
“You are. I’m not going to lie to you.”
“Why?”
“We can’t listen.”
“How long am I going to be here?”
“Hey, listen to me. We’re just detectives. Okay. It’s our job to talk to you, but we can’t make those decisions. Who? Prosecutors and judges. I can’t.”
“You guys don’t understand how bad this is going to get. I have really bad mental health issues.”
“They will, they will accommodate you.”
“I won’t eat. It’s not… It’s not… It’s not like big bad jail where officers are throwing you around. I mean, it’s, it’s, it’s a nice jail.”
“I can’t… I won’t eat. I can’t eat. I need my dog.”
But unfortunately for Angelina, jail regulations do not allow comfort animals. Before they go, investigators finally remember to ask her about the use of ropes.
“Was there enough room for like ropes used either or was it just cuffs? As a game, how often did you use the rope?”
“Once. And it… like I just said to you, it was… we were just playing.”
“Was it on Saturday?”
“No. Who usually used the rope?”
“I did. And it was a just a game. I was playing with my kid. Yeah.”
However, Dylan discloses he once received Snapchat evidence pointing to a darker truth and faces backlash for not coming forward sooner.
“Tell me about this, uh, Snapchat.”
“She sent me this snap of tied to a chair explaining the rope… cuz that hit me on the way here because you asked me about it. Okay. And I ripped her head off about it. Like why the is my daughter tied to a chair?”
“Did she say what? Because she wasn’t listening. She wasn’t… She… She… She wasn’t acting out. She wasn’t listening. But that… that doesn’t give you…”
“In this picture, was she crying? Was the…”
“It was a video. She wasn’t crying or anything. She was just sitting there with her head down.”
“It was a video. It wasn’t just a picture. It was a video. And I wish I would have saved it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me then? I should have… honestly, right, thinking back on it these past few days I should have. Here’s the thing, man, I got there and I was trying to help.”
“You were trying to help. And if I would have known that right then, do you think this would have been waiting till now?”
“No. You think that kid would have got his justice on Saturday?”
“He would have got his justice then, right then and there. Um, and I’m, and I… I’m really kicking myself in the answer for that. It’s like, dude… he deserves it, man. He deser… Yeah, exactly. The justice. Exactly. He deserves that justice, man.”
While being held behind bars, Angelina calls her mother and places the blame for the entire incident solely on one person’s shoulders.
“I can’t believe your brother did this to me. I didn’t. No, I was listening to my uncle. He was the first ever.”
“You was?”
“Yes. Yes. Bobby was the first one to do it. I thought it was okay and he almost killed my son and now I’m being punished.”
“Oh god, Angel, why didn’t you tell me he’s doing all this? I would have jerked you all out of that house immediately.”
“No, it was wrong for me. Bobby to me. Bobby doesn’t have a sister anymore. You abused my children. You abused my grandchildren. Take me on. I’m the one you hate. Bring it. Don’t take it out of my grandchildren and my children. You love. It may have been, but the way the source are looking at it is you’re an adult and that’s why you’re being held responsible like people think I would actually hurt my son.”
“Well, you got to understand how it looks. I know, but it’s not the truth. I would never.”
During questioning, Bobby admitted the handcuffs were his. However, he denies ever putting them on the children himself, reminding them he has missing fingers from the propane explosion that left him disabled.
“But obviously, you knew that she was using that at this point. Okay. or her kids were kind of… Did you ever try to stop her from doing it?”
“No, I don’t like conflict or arguing.”
“Okay. If the children were to say that you had handcuffed him, would they be lying?”
“Yeah. Why? I couldn’t… I can’t take screaming or conflict.”
During the victim’s interview, investigators asked directly about his great uncle’s involvement.
“Have you ever been handcuffed before like that?”
“Yes.”
“When? A lot of times. A lot of times, huh? Your mom and Taylor’s always done it. Did Uncle Bobby ever cuffed you?”
“No.”
“No.”
As Angelina continues to share details of the case, Taylor asked to speak with detectives one more time. Taylor, who is transgender, has been housed in the same jail as Angelina.
“Why is it you want to speak to us?”
“Because I haven’t been able to get my side out. And from all the other females talking in here is what she’s telling them, it’s like all… all I say is no, that’s not what happened. No, that’s not what happened. And it just frustrates me because I, you know, I don’t know if she is saying it because it’s… it’s… it’s talked. Everybody talks, you know.”
Taylor shares a written confession admitting to helping Angelina cuff the victim’s feet as well as holding him down in the chair. According to the confession, the two received no help in this from Bobby. Investigators showed Taylor the Snapchat video of the boy’s sister tied to a chair. Taylor denies ever seeing it before, but admits to seeing this done to the young girl in person on at least one occasion.
“And along with her being cuffed to that, there was… she was… she had a rope around her and it was like there was the bar right here that had the legs on it. Okay. And it was like almost like a noose how a noose is made. And then it came like up and like around and it like wrapped around the chair around the rods.”
“You understand how messed up that is?”
“Oh yeah. Yeah, I do.”
“I’m not being mean, but you did nothing about it. Am I right?”
“Yeah.”
“You didn’t discuss this with anybody when you’re seeing quote stepdaughter tied to a chair. You didn’t say what the hell to anyone.”
“I’m sure I’m asking.”
“I didn’t say nothing. No, I thought about it. Yeah. I… I didn’t. You walked into a room with your stepdaughter that you know… up. I know she’s tied to a chair for the first time you’ve ever heard of this, seen this, anything. And you do nothing.”
“I know it’s up.”
“Yeah, that’s the words I would use.”
Though by all accounts, Bobby didn’t restrain the child. He did lie to law enforcement and took steps to conceal the dog.
“Mason, please tell the attorney I want him. I am going to. I didn’t know anybody was able to pick him up. Um, cuz she says you don’t know if I’m going to prison or not. I hope not. But I guarantee the dog warden that’s never going to happen again in my watch. I guarantee it. I’ll never let anybody watch him without me. But he’s a good boy. He don’t deserve to be destroyed.”
Bobby ultimately admitted that the night he returned home without his dog, he lied about it getting loose after chasing the deer. In reality, he left the dog with a friend who later told police he had no idea the dog had bit anyone or he wouldn’t have allowed it to stay. According to the investigating deputy, Robert is an irresponsible dog owner and his behavior put others at risk of serious physical harm.
“Honestly, I did not do nothing wrong besides taking my dog from the scene.”
According to a press release provided by the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office, the pitbull was taken into custody to be housed as a vicious dog. 47-year-old Robert “Bobby” Makowski Jr. was ordered no contact with minors and prohibited from owning any animals, including dogs. After pleading not guilty, he was tried on seven felony charges and ultimately convicted on three: Two counts of complicity in the commission of endangering children and one count of tampering with evidence. He was acquitted on the remaining four charges. On July 21st, 2025, Bobby was sentenced to 9 years in prison with 337 days of credit for time served. He appealed his sentence in August of 2025.
Despite confessing to complicity, Taylor’s recorded jail calls reveal a refusal to accept responsibility for what happened to the child.
“No matter what I said, she was going to do it anyways. Yeah. So, how is that my fault? just because I was there and witnessed it.”
29-year-old Taylor Desiree Marvin Brown first pleaded not guilty, but later changed the plea to guilty on one count of obstructing justice and three counts of complicity in the commission of an offense. On July 14th, 2025, Taylor was sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison, plus 2 to 5 years of post-release control.
With her own judgment closing in, Angelina grasped at the possibility of receiving lesser charges.
“I don’t see these charges sticking. Not with it, not with it not being my dog, my puff. Nothing was personally mine. I’m not saying I did nothing wrong, but at the same time, I didn’t.”
“That’s what I was worried about cuz you weren’t really taking accountability for your part.”
“I’ll take… I have and I have… um, I’m not going… I can’t go to prison. I can barely do jail.”
Before her fate is decided, Angelina poses a final question to her mother about her six-year-old son.
“Is his smile back?”
“Sitting there, it’s a little crooked with the nerve damage. That baby’s always had a very, very pretty smile. That little boy’s smile light up in his room. Just like mine once said, ‘You got my smile before the world took it from me.'”
According to a press release from the Ashland County Prosecuting Attorney, the six-year-old boy has fully recovered from his physical injuries. It also states that he and his sister are residing together in the care of a legal custodian where they’re receiving appropriate support and protection.
28-year-old Angelina Williams initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. After undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, however, she was found competent to stand trial. She later changed her plea to guilty of kidnapping, four counts of endangering children, obstructing justice, and possessing criminal tools. On June 30th, 2025, Angelina was sentenced to 19 to 23 and 1/2 years in prison, plus 48 months with 316 days credited for time served and an additional 2 to 5 years of post-release control. Neither Dylan nor the children’s grandmother were charged with any crimes related to this incident.
