Man who died at Miami house may have been dead before dogs injured him, police say
The Sunday death of a man at a Liberty City house where dogs were removed by Miami-Dade Animal Control wasn’t necessarily a dog attack death, Miami police said Monday.
“At this time, it is being investigated as an ‘unclassified’ death pending further investigation,” Miami police said in an email to the Miami Herald. “Preliminary investigation suggest[s] the individual may have sustained injuries from a dog after death; however, the official cause and manner of death will be determined by the (Miami-Dade) Medical Examiner’s Office.”
Miami police also clarified that the Sunday caller who brought them to the house at 812 NW 67th St. just before 1 a.m. Sunday “mentioned they did not physically see the male getting attacked, but they saw several dogs nearby.”
Officers found 39-year-old Michael Gedeus, whom Miami Police identified Tuesday, unconscious on the property. Miami Fire Rescue made the official death pronouncement, as is standard.
Miami-Dade Animal Services said the 11 dogs that were removed Sunday were “terrier mixes.”
A neighbor who didn’t want to be identified told a Herald journalist Sunday that “multiple” pit bulls are kept on the property — and the dogs have bitten kids who attend the Thena Crowder Early Childhood & Diagnostic Center. The special education school sits about 100 yards from the house.
A large pit bull rested in a shaded cage in another backyard across the street from the school, but Miami-Dade County Public Schools says neither the school nor Miami-Dade Schools Police have received any reports of Crowder students bitten by dogs in the neighborhood.
County property records show that 812 NW 67th St., a property that has a three-bedroom, one-bathroom house, was last sold in 2006 and is owned by the estate of Marie Gedeus.
A woman who said she was Michael Gedeus’ sister told Local 10 she does not think her dogs were involved in the attack.
“It just saddens me that we think we have time but we don’t have time. Tomorrow is not promised,” said Chayil, the victim’s sister, who did not want to be identified by her full name.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
This story was originally published October 6, 2025 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Man who died at Miami house may have been dead before dogs injured him, police say."
