Friends of Malia Nummerdor, the Florida mother charged with engaging in sexual contact with the family dog, have launched an online fundraiser on her behalf, claiming she was set up by her estranged husband and that her children deserve privacy and stability while the case plays out through the legal system.
Nummerdor, 38, was arrested on September 15 after her husband Erik told police he had discovered footage on hidden security cameras he installed at home to investigate missing money from a coin jar. He provided investigators with the recordings and access to a laptop containing additional footage, which police described as offering "an independent source of corroboration beyond Erik's statements."
During her police interview, Nummerdor appeared impaired and acknowledged being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. She admitted she was the person shown in the footage with the dog but denied any sexual contact, claiming she had been lying with and petting her elderly dog near its bed. When asked to clarify her physical position and the dog's placement, police said she "was unable to provide any coherent or consistent explanation."
She has since been released from Charlotte County Jail, where she smiled for her mugshot in a photograph that drew specific condemnation from the county sheriff, who described it as one of the few times in his career he had been left at a loss for words.
The fundraiser, launched on Monday, paints a different picture of the case. It describes Nummerdor as a woman with no surviving parents who grew up as an only child and is now leaning on close friends for support after being displaced from her home.
"Malia is facing serious allegations, and she needs experienced legal representation to ensure that she has the opportunity to fully address them through the proper legal process," the fundraiser states. "This situation has also deeply affected her two young sons, who deserve privacy, stability, and as much normalcy as possible while the adults involved work through what comes next."
The fundraiser is explicit that it is not asking donors to take a position on the facts of the case, only to support a mother and her children through a difficult period.
So far, the response has been limited. Since launching on Monday, the fundraiser has received just two donations totalling less than $20.
Nummerdor has previously alleged that Erik installed the cameras without her knowledge, accessed her social media accounts to post the material publicly, and had been holding the footage since 2024 before reporting it to police during what she describes as a bitter divorce. Erik has not publicly responded to those counter-allegations.
