The two women accused of owning dogs that killed an 8-year-old boy in DeLand appeared in court Wednesday for a major update in their case — and his family says the continued delays are making an already painful situation even harder to bear.
Brandy Franco, formerly known as Brandy Hodil, and Amanda Franco are both charged with tampering with evidence in connection with the January 2025 death of Michael Millett. Volusia County deputies say Michael was riding his bike in his neighborhood when two dogs escaped from the women’s property, attacked and killed him. The women are accused of deleting social media messages — from other residents and between each other — about prior problems with the dogs following the attack.
Wednesday marked the first time both women and their full legal teams appeared together in court since the case began. The judge learned there will be no plea deals offered, and a trial may not begin until January — nearly two years after Michael was killed.
Defense attorneys say new video and text message evidence has continued to surface, pushing the timeline back. Julia Clark, who represents Amanda Franco, explained the ongoing challenge.
“Almost every time we’ve done a deposition in this case, a new name or piece of information that Mr. Dala and I have to flush out has come up,” Clark said.
Judge Kathleen McNeilly addressed the attorneys directly, pressing them on the delays. She also outlined what the defendants could face if convicted.
“The maximum exposure, the charge of the tampering with physical evidence/destroy evidence is up to five years state prison,” McNeilly said.
Amanda Franco faces an additional charge — attack or bite by an unclassified dog that causes severe injury or death — which carries a maximum of 60 days in prison. Brandy Franco was also arrested two weeks ago on unrelated drug charges.
For Michael’s mother, Tiffani Connell, every delay feels like another obstacle standing between her family and justice.
“The longer it drags out, the harder it is for our family. We haven’t even been able to begin grieving our son because we’re too busy fighting for justice for him,” Connell said.
Connell made clear she has no interest in seeing either woman accept a plea deal.
“They’re the reason my son is dead, so a plea deal is getting the easy way out, so I want them to stand trial. I want them to have to sit there and hear all of the evidence,” she said.
If the case does go to trial, it is expected to last approximately three weeks. Both sides are due back in court in October for another update, at which point a firm trial date may be set.