Few cases have left a Florida sheriff at a loss for words, but after a 38-year-old woman was accused of a sex act with her elderly dog, one detail appeared to disgust him even more.
Erik Nummerdor was reviewing footage from surveillance cameras he had installed inside his home, hoping to discover who had been stealing money from a coin container. Instead, the father found something far more disturbing involving his wife, Malia Nummerdor, and the family’s elderly dog, Ranger.
Days later, the disturbing discovery spilled into public view when Erik accused Malia in a Sept. 11 Facebook post of engaging in sexual activity with their dog, drawing the attention of the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO). Detectives reviewed the allegations before launching an investigation that brought them directly to Erik and the surveillance footage.
When he spoke with investigators on Sept. 14, Erik explained that the two cameras—including one in the bedroom—were not a secret. “He stated the bedroom camera was visible, displayed a blinking red light, and was known to household members,” the detective wrote in an arrest affidavit. “The camera recorded continuously in rolling intervals, overwriting older footage.”
Erik provided detectives with screenshots. After examining them, an investigator described seeing an adult woman, identified by Erik as Malia, “nude from the waist down, positioned with the dog in a manner consistent with sexual activity.” Erik then gave authorities access to the laptop containing the surveillance files.
By that point, Malia had already denied Erik’s accusations, claiming she had not engaged in sexual conduct and disputing that the animal was even a dog.
On Sept. 15, investigators interviewed Malia directly. According to the affidavit, Malia appeared impaired and admitted to being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. When shown the recording, she confirmed she was the woman on camera and acknowledged the animal was her dog. The CCSO stated she “denied anything sexual occurring but could not provide a consistent explanation for what was seen on the camera.”
Malia also challenged Erik’s account, telling detectives she had not known about the indoor cameras. She alleged that Erik accessed her social media accounts to post images and videos, claimed the recordings dated back to 2024, and stated Erik had previously threatened her with the videos. She then requested an attorney, ending the interview.
Authorities arrested Malia on a charge of sexual activity involving animals, a second-degree felony under Florida law. She was held at the Charlotte County Jail on $35,000 bond when her arrest was announced on Sept. 16.
The allegations left Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell struggling to process the event. “There are only a few times in my career that I have been at a loss for words,” Prummell said in the statement. “This is one of those times. I simply cannot comprehend this behavior. No animal should ever be subjected to this kind of conduct, and you can be sure that we will take action when we learn about it here in Charlotte County.”
Another detail that stood out to the sheriff was Malia smiling in her mugshot.
“And then to smile in the mugshot?” Prummell said. “I don’t know what there is to smile about when you’ve been arrested for something as disgusting as this.”