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HOWELL -- Blood and human tissue evidence found on four dogs owned by an Iosco Township woman charged in the mauling deaths of two people will be used in her trial next month, a judge ruled Wednesday. Diane Cockrell, 52, of Fowlerville faces 15 years in prison on two counts of owning dangerous animals causing death and allowing her American bulldogs and bulldog mixes to run loose. Her trial is set for Aug. 25. Her attorney, Daniel Blank, said Cockrell's dogs were illegally seized by animal control officers in violation of her Fourth Amendment rights and that Cockrell never consented to give police and a dental forensic expert access to the dogs. The evidence was taken after all 10 of her dogs were euthanized. A search warrant was needed, Blank said."It was clearly a chaotic situation; one dog was still running loose, and another may have been in the woods. No one knew how many dogs were involved," Livingston Circuit Judge Stanley Latreille said before denying the motion to suppress the evidence. Police believe four of Cockrell's dogs escaped Sept. 13 by digging a hole under the wall of a barn and slipping through a split-rail fence surrounding the Crofoot Road property. The dogs killed Edward Gierlach, 90, of Fowlerville at his cottage across the street and Cheryl Harper, 56, of Iosco Township, who had been taking a walk. The ruling came after two days of testimony by Michigan State Police Trooper Michael Sura, Livingston Animal Control Director Ann Burns and animal control officer Linda Duke. Cockrell agreed to allow Burns to take the animals to the shelter and helped round up the dogs from the barn and put them into an animal control van, Burns testified. She also signed a consent form allowing the 10 dogs to be euthanized. Latreille said there was no evidence of coercion on behalf of police or animal control officials and Cockrell knew what she was agreeing to, despite being visibly shaken. "Once the animals came into custody of the animal control shelter, they had control over whatever clippings of hair or other evidence (was) taken," the judge said. He also denied a motion filed by the defense asking him to reconsider a ruling to allow testimony in the trial about one of Cockrell's dogs killing a golden retriever puppy several years ago.

 

 

 

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