Police release photos of dogs suspected of mauling a Miami Gardens woman to death
.jpg "Police release photos of dogs suspected in the fatal mauling of a Miami Gardens woman on Labor Day. DNA testing is underway to confirm involvement.")
New images identify at least four dogs suspected of mauling 71-year-old Doreen Richards Broadbelt as she walked to work in a Miami Gardens neighborhood on the morning of Labor Day. The Miami Herald has learned two are owned by a neighbor she talked to frequently; others have been seen walking unleashed through the community.
On Tuesday, Miami Gardens police released pictures of four dogs they say are suspected of the killing and have been DNA-swabbed to confirm their involvement, marking the first identification of any kind since Broadbelt’s death. Police have not indicated whether the test results have come back, who owns the dogs or if there are more dogs possibly being investigated.
Three of the dogs appear to be Labrador mixes. The fourth is a brown, possibly American Bulldog or Pitbull. It’s unclear if any of the dogs are in the custody of Miami-Dade Animal Services.
At least two were seen in the yard of the home directly across from where Broadbelt was killed in the 1400 block of Northwest 196th Terrace in Miami Gardens, the Herald saw. As of Tuesday night, they were not there.
The homeowner, Eunice Thomas, previously told the Herald she owned the two dogs, and while they walk the yard without leashes, they are often chained in the back. However, on multiple visits to the neighborhood, the two dogs were unchained in the yard during different times of the day and night, the Herald observed.
Thomas did not immediately respond for comment on the newly released police images.
Thomas detailed to the Herald last week that she frequently talked with Broadbelt by her gate, usually with her dogs at her feet. The day of the attack, Thomas was awakened by a dog barking and she knew Broadbelt would be walking by around that time, but didn’t see anything when she looked outside.
While Thomas said Broadbelt never complained about loose dogs, Broadbelt’s family countered that she had complained to them of dogs bothering her on walks to Walmart, where she worked about a mile away from her home.
READ MORE: Deadly dog attack leaves Miami Gardens neighborhood grieving, demanding safety
Other neighbors in the community have told the Herald that Thomas’ dogs are known to jump over her waist-high chain link fence and wander the neighborhood.
Neighbor Thomas Harper told the Herald a dog, which he believed to belonged to Thomas, jumped into his yard at night but was quickly spooked away when he tried to approach. While he hadn’t seen any aggressive dogs in his about two years of living in the community, Harper added he has seen several dogs wandering around.
He and other neighbors reported a brown dog was one such dog walking the streets without an owner; it's unclear if that dog is the one pictured by police.
According to county records, Thomas has been cited four times since 2006 about her dogs. In January 2006 and February 2007, Miami-Dade County Animal Services inspectors cited her for letting her dogs run at large in the community.
Although she was cited in 2006, her 2007 citation in online records is listed as a fist violation.
And a year later, in February 2008, inspectors cited Thomas for failing to vaccinate her dogs against rabies and failing to obtain a required license for her dogs, county records show.
READ MORE: Miami Gardens dog attack highlights dual problem of loose dogs, crowded shelters
Animal Services has said it did not receive any calls from the neighborhood regarding stray or unleashed dogs. Based on preliminary findings, Director Annette Jose noted it does not appear stray dogs attacked Broadbelt.
Police are asking residents to call 305-474-6473 to report sightings of stray or aggressive dogs.
This story was originally published September 9, 2025 at 10:01 PM.
%20Cropped%20(2).jpg)