Florida woman drowned dog in airport bathroom after denied boarding, police say

ORLANDO, Fla. — An arrest affidavit for Alison Agatha Lawrence details allegations that she drowned her dog in the bathroom at Orlando International Airport because she didn’t have the proper paperwork to bring the animal on her flight.

The miniature schnauzer, named Tywinn, was found on December 16, 2024 in a trash bin by an employee cleaning the bathroom, according to investigators, who also discovered the dog’s belongings in the garbage bag.

Law enforcement was immediately notified. Through multiple different tools and resources, officials identified Lawrence as Tywinn’s owner and the suspect in his death.

Several items found in the trash can with Tywinn were used to confirm Lawrence was his owner:

• A name tag on a collar had the name “Alison Lawrence” written on it, along with a phone number.
• Animal Services found Tywinn had a microchip, which allegedly revealed “Allison Holt” as the owner (Police said “Holt” is one of three last names associated with Lawrence).
• A dog tag on a collar had an identification number for a rabies vaccine, which was registered to a dog named “Tywinn” and owner “Alison Holt.”

While the effort to identify Tywinn’s owner was underway, police said Lawrence was on a flight to Columbia.

The affidavit details a timeline of the incident and investigation.

Investigators said Lawrence and Tywinn were seen on surveillance video at about 1:34 p.m. talking to an agent at the LATAM Airlines ticket area.

The woman and dog are then shown at the ticket counter talking to another agent. The conversation lasted about 15 minutes, which the affidavit noted as an unusually long time for a normal interaction at a ticket counter.

At about 1:50 p.m., police said the two left the ticket counter. The woman in the footage is carrying some sort of document.

After leaving the ticket area, the affidavit alleges Lawrence headed to the women’s bathroom with Tywinn.

The woman is then seen exiting the bathroom at 2:07 p.m., about 15 minutes after entering.

Multiple witnesses allegedly interacted with the woman as she left the bathroom. The employee who reported finding Tywinn to Orlando police said about 20 minutes before making the discovery, she noticed a woman on the floor of the ADA-accessible bathroom stall.

“[The employee] stated the defendant was on her knees cleaning up a lot of water and a lot of dog food from the floor of the…stall,” the affidavit said. “[The employee] stated the defendant spent more time than usual in the…stall.”

The employee left the bathroom to clean another location and returned about 20 minutes later. She told police the woman was gone so she went into the stall and tried emptying the trash, but noticed the garbage bag was unusually heavy.

That’s when the employee said she found Tywinn unresponsive and soaking wet in the bag.

After walking outside at 2:07 p.m., surveillance video captured the woman approaching the next closest door and re-entering into the main terminal. The affidavit noted this behavior as “unusual.”

Investigators said between 2:07 p.m. and 3:34 p.m., Lawrence traveled through TSA security, making her way to her flight’s gate. She is last seen on surveillance footage sitting at the gate at 3:34 p.m. before boarding the plane headed to Columbia.

The arrest affidavit said Lawrence was scheduled to be in South America for “several months.”

An autopsy was performed on Tywinn on March 3, 2025. The forensic pathologist determined his cause of death was drowning.

The affidavit was filed on March 14, 2025, creating an arrest warrant for Lawrence on one count of aggravated animal abuse, which is a third-degree felony.

Lawrence was arrested on March 18, 2025 at her home in Clermont. Her bond was set at $5,000 and court records indicate she was released after fulfilling her bond.