Law&Crime Sidebar - Ohio Mom Let Dog Maul Son Like a 'Chew Toy'

Episode Date: July 22, 2025

A 6-year-old boy was left with life-threatening injuries after being handcuffed and mauled by a pit bull—now his mother, 28-year-old Angelina Williams, is behind bars. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber breaks down every disturbing detail of this horrifying child abuse case, featuring chilling 911 audio, police bodycam footage, and expert legal insight from former Deputy Attorney General Mark Weaver.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:If you received Depo-Provera birth control shots and were later diagnosed with a brain or spinal tumor called meningioma, you may be eligible for a lawsuit. Visit https://forthepeople.com/lcdepo to start a claim now!HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this law and crimes series ad free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. a six year old boy was handcuffed, tied up and mauled by a pit bull 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 co-defendants involved and what a former Ohio prosecutor has to say about how it all unfolded. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law & 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 pit bull 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 Ashland County Common Police Court Judge Dave Stimpert, 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 17, 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 eight-year-old daughter for a visit. They were at the home of Robert Mikulski Jr., who Ohio outlet WOIO reports is believed to be Williams' uncle and the children's great uncle. 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 wrists 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 pit bull 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 law and crime legal alert. If you receive Depor-Provera 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 & Morgan is investigating claims that patients weren't properly 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 slash LC depo 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 pit bull. Take a listen. 911, the location of your emergency? Yeah, my stepson just got bitten in the throat or the side of the neck by a dog. What's your address? The address is... on just got bitten the thro by a dog. Um, the address chapel street. It's bad. on his neck and his ear. Okay, cool. Don't let up

it. A dog is it? Don't let off. Keep pressure on it. Dog is it? I wanted to make it a terrible. I'm on EMT, so I'm trying to doing the best I can with what I got right now, ma'am. Um, but how old is he? Uh, sick. I'm gonna be quiet for just a second. Why talk to the squad stand away? Yes, ma'am We're keeping on my work is the dog still there. Yes. 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. He is gurgling Gurgling. Gurgling? Yup. I want to say the last rations. You can see, okay, you can see the, damn near the bone. Okay.

You're applying pressure to it? Yes. I have his dad with me right now applying pressure. I told him, I'm explaining him. He needs to keep a flat hand. You're okay, buddy. You're okay. No, no, no, the dog's not on you. You're good, boy. Go inside.

All right, ma'am, are you still there? Yes. OK, can you confirm your address for me one more time? Is it 23 or 23? Yeah, 23 Chapel Street. OK. Did he lose consciousness at all? No. No. He's been alert. He's not alert right now. He's not alert.

Hey buddy, I have to. Just let me check in. What do you think? You said you were gurgling? Is it like gurgled breathing you here? Yeah, he's breathing alright. I got a good thing. Thank you. Uh, he's about, uh, 46 to 50 pounds. That's a boy. Next year. Next year.

Next year. Easy, easy, easy. Yeah. Thanks. Easy, easy. He's not gonna die. He's not gonna 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 squad. 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. He needs to lay down here. I need to take him from you. I can't hold him like this. Give me a minute. You know, you're okay. We're more worried

about your neck. Ready? Give me his head. Ready? Yes. Give me his head. I'll take the shot. I'll take the shot. I will take the shot and I will get him there. Hey, hey, back here. All right, and you guys are still applying pressure.

How is it looking? Yes. Hey, sit up. I need to hold this on your neck very firmly. My hands. Baby, don't give me baby. Is he like bleeding through the... Hey, I'm going to bleed him.

Hey, I'm going to bleed him. Hey, I'm going to bleed him. Hey, I'm going to bleed him. Hey, I'm going to bleed him. Hey, I'm going to bleed him. Hey, I'm going to bleed him. Hey, I'm going to bleed him. Hey, I'm going to bleed him.

Hey, I'm going to bleed him. Hey, I'm going to bleed him. Hey, I'm going to bleed him. Hey, I'm going to bleed him. Hey, I'm going to bleed him. Look at me, baby. Is he like bleeding through? You can see a little bit of tendon I hear are you guys going to station or do you want them to meet you? I know they should see us so deputies they arrive at the home of the dog's owner Robert McCall ski jr. But at first He was nowhere to be found now at the scene were Williams and a man prosecutors described as her paramour, Taylor Marvin Brown. And initially, officers believed that McColsky had fled. But they later discovered he was actually hiding in a crawl space with the dog. Body worn camera footage shows the moment that officers entered the home and took custody of that pit bull. And by that point, both Williams and McColsky, 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? I'm going to go get the dog. It won't hurt nobody. You go look. I didn't want to get in here. Come around. You guys go upstairs, yeah? No. There's a dog for you if you need it. Okay. I'm not looking for anything specific. The dog. I would take that dog pole up.

There's a dog pole down here. Be a shame if they tried to attack one of us. He's been up here yet. 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'd take that shield if you're... Yeah, I'll give you that shield. It's down there in the bottom of the... We need a fire extinguisher is what we need. Or a taser. Or a shield or a gun. Is it stand a fish? No lethal. No lethal. Right here. In the room. There's another little. You get the food picture of the dog food on the ground? That's all I was going to say. Right here. Do you want me to have, do you want me to have suspect food on the ground? I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Do you want me to have suspect remove him? Just record him while he's doing it?

No. I mean, 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 bowl. Yeah. Okay. I don't trust him. I don't think he's gonna do it. Okay. Stick right here.

I'm scared I'll trust him. I don't trust him. Someone take this. I think I should have worn my really good heavy duty gloves. Might as well move that little end table and give us some room. You got the pole? Do you want to move that? Just give us some room. Yeah. that just get some room.

Hey buddy! Oh yeah. Hold on. Don't move that yet, we'll see what he does. Hey buddy! Paul's tightened down. Alright. Clear. Set. You're going to have to keep that in front of me.

He's going to go down the stairs? Josh, you want to go down the stairs? He's going to my room. He's going into a car. 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 them.

Coming down dog ahead! Boys! Coming out dog, ahead! I'm not going to do nothing. I'm telling you to back up and give me an order. That dog's not going to do anything. He will hurt you. You guys protect me. I love you. We looked into it but we didn't clear it. Pull your window down about halfway. There you go.

Come on, jump in there. Come on, jump in there. And after the dog was secured in a police vehicle, officers returned to Williams and McCall Ski monitoring them while more animals were removed from the home. I'm going to try to get him to come back. th th th th

th th I'm glad. Is this the dog here you're talking about? Yes, sir. Okay, go look through the window. I can't do nothing. Well, alright, just a sec. Okay, go look to the window. I can't do nothing with you. Well, not right, just the same.

Sir, just... Not just the same. What would you do with your dog? Bobby, pretty much what they're saying is once they take their pictures, they come out of the house, they're going to take the cuffs off and they said they came to the New York Ocean. That's what that, this other, I'm sorry, I didn't get your name. So, cause you were who you said, Bobby. Yeah, I said you could see him fall in the water. He said, yeah, he said you could see him right before they came. Robert's step on to the water.

Huh. I'm just stuck on two. Oh! My kids. I want them to walk. My kids. My kids. My kids. My kids. My kids. My kids.

My kids. My kids. My kids. My kids. I'll let a clutch pull right back down. Do you really think I could sprint away? Well, I just want you to stay still. I already know what the PD push is. I don't need you picking me in the ass and eating grass. I just want you to stay still. I was just seeing that those papers were the full way through there. I just wanted to see if they set on there what you guys were looking for.

I just wanted to see if they sat on there, what you guys were looking for. You're standing on some dog s***. What's that? You're standing on some dog s***. Good. In a bag. Good. Alright. 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 a minute. What is this 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 21, 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 your own children as punishment.

The court is sending bond and the court could set a monetary amount that you would have to post prior to being released from the jail. So 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 wanna talk to attorney Whitney about it first, like I said, that's fine,

because you don't have to say anything. I feel like that's high. 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 cuffs were illegal or anything was wrong with it. My uncle told me that it was okay and 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's 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 Ashland County Jail. She's soon going to be transferred to the Ohio State Reformatory for Women to begin her 19-year sentence, minimum 19-year sentence.

Now the two other people that we talked about who are connected to this incident, Robert Mikulski Jr., the dog's owner, hit with the pit bull after the attack, and Taylor Marvin Brown, who prosecutors identified as Williams' lover. So Mikulski stood trial, was convicted on June 16th, 2025 of complicity in the commission of an offense, a third degree felony, and tampering with evidence, also a third degree 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 wish it was under better circumstances. I wish it was a case that 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, I talk about child abuse cases all the time. This one crosses the level. This one crosses the line. It really does. I know this county well. I've been a special prosecutor there twice, one on a death penalty case and another case. I'm currently prosecuting a mother and father who negligently allowed their pit bull to

kill their infant baby. So I know these cases more than I'd like to. In this case, it's particularly heinous because there was a decision, there was a calculated choice to 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 co-defendants 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, in your experience, how common is that? How common is it for prosecutors to resolve a case like this late in the process? 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. First and foremost is you want justice to be done.

The 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 Kristinell. 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, you never know what a jury is going to do. 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 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, 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. 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 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 Tennell 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 counsel, I've tried a case against him. He is a smart lawyer, been around the block, and we expect him to represent his client 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 think maybe as a judge, I might have gone a little longer, but there is a range there, 19 to 28, and this woman's could spend a lot of time in prison. It's not a murder case, and so when murder cases we have a different situation. In some cases, murderers don't get that much time. It's interesting that this mother lived in Cleveland but was in some form of visitation in Ashland 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? Robert Mikulski 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 and there's the same level of charge 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 have the idea. You are complicit. You are involved with. You are responsible for the outcome of that crime, which in this case was just a nightmare outcome. And Mikulski 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 complicity or a 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 and 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 a trial jurors want

to see that. And it shows that he was involved and knew it was wrong. You don't hide from something you don't think was wrong. And I mean it's obstruction. 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 Mikulski Jr. and Martin Brown? I expect significant sentences for all of them. As I mentioned, this is a rural jurisdiction.

It's a no-nonsense jurisdiction. I've enjoyed prosecuting cases there because it's a 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, and with the case of the mother,

nearly three decades, depending And with the case of the mothers, nearly three decades depending on how 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 Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcasts.

I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time.