An inquiry into the death of a 7-year-old kid on Christmas Day has resulted in the arrest of three relatives and two caregivers in Florida.
The news comes after Deonte Atwell died on December 25, 2023, two days after his seventh birthday, from what authorities allege was “severe malnutrition.”
Autopsy results for Deonte, who weighed seven pounds at the time of his death and was described as a “medically complex child,” revealed that his bones protruded through gaping holes in his skin, according to a press release issued by the Broward State Attorney’s Office on Wednesday, September 11.
Deonte needed “around-the-clock skilled nursing care” since he had thoracic spina bifida, a disease in which the spine and spinal cord do not form properly, and hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid in the brain, according to the Mayo Clinic. He also had breathing and feeding tubes.
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department, which responded to the initial 911 call reporting Deonte’s respiratory distress, stated in a separate news release that a thorough investigation revealed that “several family members, as well as the home health nurses, did not conduct the appropriate medical services, resulting in the aggravated abuse and death of the child.”
The family members include his mother, Michelle Doe, 37, who had previously launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for her “baby boy,” whom she said had died “due to birth defects.”
Tyreck Irvin, Doe’s 21-year-old brother, has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter, aggravated child abuse, and two charges of child negligence.
They are also charged with neglecting two other boys, aged 9 and 16 at the time, who lived at the property.
Deonte’s 70-year-old grandfather, James Graham, has been charged with aggravated manslaughter, neglect of a child, and failing to report child abuse.
According to the Broward State Attorney’s Office, evidence discovered in Deonte’s residence included 264 unopened bottles of feeding formula, indicating that he died “during a scheme to defraud Medicaid, conservatively estimated at more than $10,000 but less than $50,000.”
Mirlande Moltimer Ameda, 47, the owner of Samaritin Home Care Provider, Inc., faces charges of felony murder in the third degree, aggravated manslaughter of a child, Medicaid fraud, and child negligence.
Cassandre Lassegue, the 33-year-old nurse assigned to care for Deonte, has been charged with murder in the first degree, aggravated manslaughter of a child, criminal murder in the third degree, aggravated child abuse, and Medicaid fraud.
“It’s sad to say that Deonte had suffered through his death by the people who were supposed to be caring for him the most,” Detective Jacqueline Sanchez told reporters Wednesday, according to WPLG.
According to the Broward State Attorney’s Office, Irvin, Ameda, and Lassegue are being held in the Broward County Jail without bond. If Graham posts the $22,000 bond, he will be placed under house arrest and outfitted with a GPS monitor. Doe is set to make her first court appearance on Thursday, September 12.
If you suspect child abuse, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week in over 170 languages.
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