10-year-old dies from abuse sustained as a baby, Florida cops say. Man now charged
A 10-year-old child was severely abused as an infant and died from their injuries last year, a Florida sheriff’s office said.
Now, the man accused of abusing them is charged with murder.
On Dec. 4, 2012, deputies began investigating a suspected child abuse case in Kissimmee, according to a March 6 news release from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
The child, a 3-month-old, had “traumatic injuries,” the sheriff’s office said, and required surgery.
At the time, a 21-year-old man, whose relationship to the child was not released, was charged with aggravated child abuse and sentenced to state prison, the sheriff’s office said.
McClatchy News is not identifying the man to protect the identity of the child.
Over the next decade, the child faced severe health issues, including cerebral palsy and muscle atrophy, the sheriff’s office said. The child was blind, nonverbal, couldn’t swallow on their own and required a feeding tube to survive, deputies said.
The child had seizures, acute bronchopneumonia and spent most of their life as a quadriplegic, the sheriff’s office said.
The child died on April 26, 2023, at the age of 10, deputies said.
An investigation from the medical examiner’s office found that the child had died as a result of their injuries from the initial abuse, according to the sheriff’s office, and ruled the child’s death a homicide.
More than a decade later, the same man convicted of abusing the child was charged with murder during a felony, the sheriff’s office said.
The man, now 32 years old, was taken into custody on March 6.
Kissimmee is a 20-mile drive south from Orlando.
This story was originally published March 6, 2024 at 2:07 PM with the headline "10-year-old dies from abuse sustained as a baby, Florida cops say. Man now charged."
