Ohio Mom Let Dog Maul Son Like a 'Chew Toy'

I'm not gonna do nothing. >> Back. I'm coming to you. Back up. Give. me your order. Back. That dog's not. gonna. hurt. You guys protect me. >> A six-year-old boy was handcuffed, tied. up, and mauled by a pitbull. All because. he refused to clean up after the dog. And now his mother is headed to prison. for nearly two decades. I'm going to. break down the disturbing details of. this case, the codefendants involved, and what a former Ohio prosecutor has to.

say about how it all unfolded. Welcome. to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. A 28-year-old Ohio mother will now spend. nearly two decades in prison after her. six-year-old son was brutally mauled by. a pitbull while restrained in handcuffs, a punishment she admitted to inflicting. on him. Okay. And this was all because. he refused to clean up the dog's waist. with his bare hands. Angelina Williams.

was sentenced last week by Ashlin County. Common Police Court Judge Dave. Stimpford, who condemned her actions, saying she allowed her son to be treated. like a quote chew toy for the aggressive. animal. The harrowing details of this. case, which left the boy with. life-threatening neck injuries, emerged. during court proceedings over the past. year, including a panicked 911 phone. call, body cam footage that revealed how. Williams prioritized hiding the dog over. saving the child. According to court.

documents, the incident occurred back on. August 17th, 2024 in Savannah, Ohio. This is a small village about 60 miles. south of Cleveland where Williams had. taken her two children, her six-year-old. son and 8-year-old daughter for a visit. They were at the home of Robert Macowski. Jr. who Ohio outlet Wio reports is. believed to be Williams uncle and the. children's greatuncle. According to her. indictment, Williams became angry when. her son refused to pick up dog feces in. the yard without gloves. And as. punishment, she placed handcuffs on his.

wrist and ankles, rendered him. completely immobile. She then started. tying him to a chair with rope when he. fell to the ground moments before the. homeowner's pitbull lunged at him. Sickening. The dog clamped onto the. boy's throat, tearing into his neck with. such force that the judge in this case. later said the injuries were almost. indescribable. At Williams sentencing, Judge Stimper. didn't really mince words about the.

attack's brutality, saying that dog. tried to rip out his throat. To see the. pictures of the bruising around his eyes. and his face from the force and the. pressure that dog put on his throat, and. then to see the wounds on his neck, I'm. not sure that there are words that. adequately describe it. Hey everybody, this is another lawn crime legal alert. If you received Depo PA birth control. shots and were later diagnosed with a. brain or spinal tumor called meningioma, you may be eligible for a lawsuit. That's right. Morgan and Morgan is. investigating claims that patients were.

improperly warned about this risk. It's. free to check, just takes a few minutes, and you don't pay unless they win. So, scan the QR code on screen, click the. link below, or go to. forthepeople.com/lcdepo. to see if you qualify. Now, on the day of the attack, deputies. responded to a 911 call reporting that a. child had been bitten by a pitbull. Take. a listen. >> 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. >> Um address. >> the address is uh. >> 23. >> 23 Chapel Street. It's bad. >> Yeah. All right. I'm. Savannah. >> Yes, it's on his neck and his ear. Put. pressure on it. >> Okay, cool. >> Don't let Oh, keep pressure on it. >> What kind of dog is it? >> I wouldn't make a. >> I'm a EMT, so I'm kind of doing the best. I can with what I got right now, ma'am.

Um, >> but how old is he? >> Uh, sick. >> All right, I'm going to be quiet for. just a second while I talk to the squad. Stay on the line. >> Yes, ma'am. Baby, baby, look at me. I. cannot wake up. >> We're keeping them alert. Is the dog. still there? >> Yes. Uh the owner has a hold of him. >> currently. >> Did you say that the the patient he's. not alert anymore? >> He is. >> He's still alert.

>> Um he is gurgling. >> Um. >> 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. >> Okay. >> You're you're applying pressure to it. >> Yes. I have his dad with me right now. applying pressure. >> I told I'm I'm explaining him. He needs.

to keep a flat hand. >> I have this on your neck. Okay. >> You're okay, buddy. >> You're okay. >> Okay. >> No. No, no. The dog's caught on you. You're good, though. Go inside. >> All right, ma'am. Are you still there? >> Yes. >> Okay. Can you confirm your address for. me one more time? Is it 26 or 23? >> Yeah. Um 23.

Chapel Street. >> Okay. >> Did he lose consciousness at all? >> No. No, he's been alert. Um, >> very alert right now. >> Hey buddy, I I have to just let me. check. >> Is it like gurgled breathing? You hear?

>> Check your heart rate. >> Yeah, he's uh. >> Yeah, his heart rate. >> He's breathing all right. I got. >> heart rate's strong. >> I got a good pulse. Thank you. [Applause]. >> Uh. he's about. 46 to 50 lbs. >> The boy.

six years. >> Easy. Easy care. >> I'm going away. He's not gonna. >> He's not going to die. >> He's not going to die. He's all right. They're on their way. >> The mom wants us to take him to the. Ashland Hospital. >> Instead of waiting on the squad. >> Yeah. I mean, that's ultimately up to.

you guys, but I do have the they're just. they have to go to the station real. quick, so it shouldn't be very long at. all. >> If you guys would rather wait and they. could take him. You take him from the back seat. >> April, grab me the keys. Grab me the. key. >> I I I can't hold him like this. Give me. a minute. >> No, you're okay. We're more worried. about your neck, buddy. >> Ready?

>> Give me his head. >> Y I will take the drop and I will get in. there. >> All right. And you guys are still. applying pressure. >> Yes. Hey, sit up. I need to hold this on. your neck very firmly. >> Um my hand. >> Look at me, baby. >> Is he like bleeding through the. >> Hang on. Um, you can see a little bit of tendon. I hear him.

>> Are you guys going to station or do you. want them to meet you at the. >> They should see us. >> So, deputies, they arrive at the home of. the dog's owner, Robert Mcowsky Jr., but. at first he was nowhere to be found. Now, at the scene were Williams and a. man prosecutors described as her. paramore, Taylor Marvin Brown. And. initially, officers believed that. Mcowsky had fled, but they later. discovered he was actually hiding in a. crawl space with the dog. Bodywn camera. footage shows the moment that officers.

entered the home and took custody of. that pitbull. And by that point, both. Williams and Makowski, who had been. located, they were already outside in. their own handcuffs. The footage is. partially blurred during the interior. sweep, but much of the action does. remain visible. >> What's up?

inside. >> Yeah. I want my dog. >> All I want. >> Oh boy. >> Nobody.

[Applause]. You guys go upstairs. Yeah.

>> There's a dog over here if we need it. >> I'll try. >> Okay.

[Applause]. I looking for anything specific. The dog.

I'll take that dog pole up. >> There's a dog pole down here. >> We have a dog. >> Is that the one that bit him? Huh? >> Yeah. >> Be a shame if they tried to attack one.

of us. up here. >> Yeah, that's where the dog is. >> Oh, does it sound angry? >> Yeah, it doesn't sound happy about this. >> Did you check both of these rooms? >> Yeah. >> I I take that shield if you're. >> Yeah, give me that shield. It's down. there in the bottom of the. catcher. >> We need a fire extinguisher is what we. need. I'm. >> sure we have some or taser.

or a shield or a gunner. >> Is it standoff fish? >> Got that shield. >> You got taser. I'll take the shield. >> I got taser.

Those people downstairs. What's that? [Music]. >> There's people out here. >> Yeah. >> No one's got lethals. >> No lethals. >> I'm here for the room. >> There's a little. >> You get the picture of the dog food on. the ground. >> That's all I was going to say. >> Where? >> Right here. >> Do you want me to have Do you want me to. have suspect remove him?

Just record it while he's doing it. >> No. >> I mean, if there's four of us up here, just have him do it so no one gets bit. >> We can clear this out and use the dog. pull. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Stupid idea. >> I don't trust you. >> Huh? >> I don't trust him. >> You want to take this?

I should have worn my really dude heavy. duty gloves. Might as well move that little end. table. Give us room. Got the full. Do. >> you want to move that? Just give us some. room. Yeah.

Oh yeah. Easy. Hold on. Hold on. Don't move that yet. Let's see what he does. Hey, buddy. Pull's tightened down. All right.

You'll probably keep that in front of. me. He's going to go after me. You want to go down the stairs, Josh? You want to go down the stairs? >> He's going to my room or my car. One of. he's going into a car. It could be It. could be any car for now. >> Yeah. Both of you go down the stairs. Derry, >> go downstairs. >> Let everybody know we're coming out with. him. >> Get him ahead of us.

All right, buddy. Go ahead. Coming down. Dog ahead. Come on, buddy. Go. Go on. Go on, buddy.

boys. coming out. Go ahead. Back up. >> Back up. >> I'm not going to do nothing.

>> Back. I'm telling you to back up. I'm. giving you order. Back. That dog's not. going to. >> He will hurt you. You guys to protect. me. I love you. Not yet. We looked into it, but we. didn't clear it.

Pull your window down about halfway. Halfway. There you go. And after the dog was secured in a. police vehicle, officers returned to. Williams and Makowski, monitoring them. while more animals were removed from the. home.

2020.

He finally made it home. Lost the stuff. Can't believe we made it back. Is this Is this the door here you're.

talking about? >> Yes, sir. >> Go look through the window. I can't do. nothing. >> Right. Just. >> look. Pretty much what they're saying is. once they take their pictures and they. come out of the house, they're going to. take the cuffs off. They said they can. you can go see him without this other. I'm sorry I didn't get your name. >> because you were who you who said. >> I said you can see him.

Yeah. >> Huh? >> My kids. So, mine are behind my back. I'll let.

[Music]. You really think I can sprint away? >> Well, I just want you to stay still. >> I already know what the PV push is. I. don't need you kicking me in the ass and. eating grass. >> I just want you to stay. >> I'm not I was just seeing if those. papers were the whole way over there. That's all. I just wanted to see if it. said on there what you guys were looking. for. >> Standing on some dog. What's that? You're standing on some dog Good.

In a bag. Good. >> All right. >> What's the name of the dog? >> Mason. >> Robert, how do you spell your last name? >> M I C H A L S K I. >> Slow down for me. What is it? Spell one. more time. >> M I C H A L S K I.

Williams was then taken into custody, held without bail. And at Williams first. court appearance on August 21st, 2024, she offered a defense that would later. haunt the proceedings. Why? Because. Williams, who People magazine reports. had previously posted a photo of her. daughter restrained in a similar way on. social media, claimed ignorance about.

the brutality of handcuffing her own. children as punishment. >> The court is setting bond and the court. could set a monetary amount that you. would have to post prior to being. released from the jail. So, uh, attorney. Tanel has just stated what the state's. position is regarding what bond should. be. So, if you would like to state what. you think bond should be, you may, but. you don't have to. If you want to talk. to Attorney Whitney about it first, like. I said, that's fine because you don't. have to say anything.

>> I I I feel like that's high. I feel like. the dogs, not even my dogs. The cuffs. aren't even my cuffs. I didn't even know. that the the cuffs were illegal or. anything was wrong with it. Um, my uncle told me that it was okay and. I never meant any harm.

I really didn't. >> The boy had been airlifted to a hospital. and he miraculously survived. Okay. According to People, he since made a. full recovery. He and his sister are now. in the care of a legal custodian. This. is according to court records. Williams, by the way, was scheduled to go to trial. in May, but days before she instead. decided to plead guilty. Plead guilty to. one count of kidnapping, four counts of. endangering children, one count of. obstructing justice, and one count of.

possessing criminal tools. And she. received credit for the 361 days she had. already spent in jail. But she remains. in the Ashlin County Jail. She's soon. going to be transferred to the Ohio. State Reformatory for women to begin her. 19year sentence, minimum 19-year. sentence. Now, the two other people that. we talked about who are connected to. this incident, Robert Makowski Jr., the. dog's owner, hid with the pitbull after. the attack, and Taylor Marvin Brown, who. prosecutors identified as Williams. lover. So, Mcowsky stood trial, was.

convicted on June 16th, 2025 of. complicity in the commission of an. offense, a thirdderee felony, and. tampering with evidence. also a. thirdderee felony. He's expected to be. sentenced on July 21st, 2025. And as for. Taylor Marvin Brown, pleaded guilty to. one count of obstructing justice, three. counts of complicity in the commission. of a felony, one for kidnapping, the. other two for endangering children, and. he's set to be sentenced on July 14th, 2025. All right, so to break this down,

I want to bring on a special guest. I'm. joined by attorney, former deputy. attorney general out of Ohio, Mark. Weaver, friend of the show. Mark, so. good to see you. Thanks so much for. taking the time. I I wish it was under. better circumstances. I wish it was a. case that I I haven't just described, but unfortunately, this is where we find. ourselves from a human point of view. As. somebody who's dealt with a number of. different cases, this is one, and I've. handled, you know, I talk about child. abuse cases all the time. This one. crosses a level. This one crosses a.

line. >> It really does. I know this county well. I've been a special prosecutor there. twice. One in a death penalty case and. another case. And I'm currently. prosecuting um a mother and father who. uh negligently allowed their pitbull to. to kill their infant baby. So I know. these cases more than I'd like to. Um. and this case is particularly heinous. because there was a a decision. There. was a calculated choice to bind bind. this child with handcuffs,

stop any way he has from defending. himself against the most vicious of. dogs. And then there appears to be some. evidence that this mother thought it was. a fun thing that it was a good thing. that she bragged about. The judge. actually held her to account on this. I. expect the two codefendants to get. similar very long sentences here. >> Yeah. I mean, this is a case that was. elevated to what the judge described as. torture. Okay. And she was hit with a. first-degree felony kidnapping charge. Okay. The idea though that Angela.

Williams was originally set to go to. trial takes a plea just days before. before in your experience, how common is. that? How common is it for prosecutors. to resolve a case like this late in the. process? I mean, what factors would push. both sides toward a plea deal like this? I've prosecuted so many cases where. children are victims. It's always on my. mind that I don't want to revictimize a. victim. So that's f first and foremost.

is you want justice to be done. But. second is can we do it without making. this child go through what for most. children would be a very daunting and. scary process having to relive this. having to undergo cross-examination. So that's likely what prosecutor. Christel. >> Is there a chance they wouldn't have. needed that young boy to testify? Could. they have proven the case without his. testimony? >> Well, certainly. Um, you never know what. a juryy's going to do and and we do have. ways of presenting child testimony.

through videos that have been taken. during the investigation process. The. evidence rule does allow for this. sometimes, but a defense lawyer who. wants to avail their client of every. possible chance of getting found not. guilty or getting a hung jury might. challenge all that. And so that's at. least one factor is whether or not the. child has to testify. The other factor. is is it possible that one juror will. not find that this happened and we have.

a hung jury and have to start back all. over again. And then the third one is if. you go through trial, you're going to. have and get a conviction, you're going. to have more appeal issues. And at any. point in the future, if some supervising. or reviewing court finds a mistake. procedurally, the entire case gets. overturned and gets sent back down and. we start all over again. These are the. factors that I think about as a. prosecutor when I'm trying to decide. whether or not I want to resolve a case. And when you can get a good long. sentence, and this is a good long.

sentence for this crime, um, as many as. 28 years for the mother, then that's a. factor. So, I do this because I enjoy. trying cases. I do this because people. need to step up and speak for children. But if I can get that justice without. going to trial, I'll do it every time. What um when when she was charged, we. can make sense of the kidnapping, the. child endangerment, possession of. criminal tools. What does that charge. mean under Ohio law? And how could it be.

involved in a case like this? Is it the. handcuffs? Is it the rope? >> Yeah, it's it's it's the handcuffs and. rope. We often use the criminal tools. charge to strengthen an indictment. In. this case, you don't need to, but I. don't blame prosecutor Chris Tanell for. bringing every possible charge that. could be brought. You want to present. your strongest case so that if you do. resolve the case, you have some room to. negotiate with defense counsel and at. least the mother's defense council. I've.

I've I've tried a case against him. He. is a a smart lawyer, been around the. block, and we expect him to represent. his client uh in the best way possible. So, criminal tools allows you to charge. for things that wouldn't be a crime for. just having them. >> You know, the judge didn't mince words, basically saying that the child was. treated like a chew toy when Williams is. sentenced to 19 years in prison. Do you. think that's the appropriate sentence? >> Yeah, I I I think maybe as a judge I.

might have gone a little longer, but. there is a range there. 19 to 28. Uh, and this woman's going to spend a lot of. time in prison. uh it's not a murder. case and so when murder cases we have a. different situation uh and in some cases. murderers don't get that much time. Um. it's interesting that this mother lived. in Cleveland but was in some form of. visitation in Ashlin County which is a. rural county about an hour or so south. of Cleveland. I doubt she would have. gotten this much time had this happened.

in Cleveland. >> Let's talk about the other adults right. Macowski Jr. Taylor, Martin Brown, they. were also convicted. What does Ohio law. say about complicity in cases like this? How does the law define when someone. becomes legally responsible even if they. didn't physically commit an act? >> Yeah, complicity can be charged at the. same level as the original crime as long. as you had knowledge or participation. before or during the event. I recently.

had a case where I brought complicity. charges uh and and there's the same. level of charge um as the original. charge. And so Ohio law holds to account. every person who's involved in the crime. whether they were the ones who put the. handcuffs on or sick the dog on or had. the idea. You are complicit. You are. involved with you are responsible for. the outcome of of that crime which in. this case was just a nightmare outcome. And McCowsky apparently hid in this. crawl space with the dog after the.

attack. I imagine from a prosecutorial. point of view, behavior after the fact, hiding, lying to police, that just. strengthens the case and helps with, you. know, complicity or tampering charge of. some kind. >> It does. It does. And he's also hiding. the dog. The dog is a part of the proof. of the evidence, right? The dog's going. to have DNA of the child on it. the. dog's going to be proof that there were, you know, there were these bites. And so. it shows a awareness of guilt, which is.

very strong to show at trial. Juries. want to see that. Um, and it shows that. he was involved and knew it was wrong. You don't hide from something you you. don't think was wrong. >> And I mean, it's obstruction. That's. that's the end of the day what we're. talking about with obstruction. What's. in store for them? What's in store for. Macski and Jr. and Martin Brown? I expect significant uh sentences for. all of them. As I mentioned, this is a a. rural jurisdiction. It's a nononsense. jurisdiction. I've enjoyed prosecuting. cases there because the good.

prosecutor's office, law enforcement is. smart, and the judges tend to be very. strong. So, all three of these people. will be in prison for a decade, two. decades maybe. uh and with the case of. the mothers nearly three decades. depending on how the the system is. changed over the next 20 years on when. you might be able to get out early. >> Well, for now going back to the. children, the two children are safe, but. the scars physical, emotional,

likely will remain for years to come. Mark Weaver, thank you so much for. taking the time. Good seeing you. >> Sad case. Thank you, Jesse. >> And that's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so. much for joining us and as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple. Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should. get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll. speak to you next time. [Music].