Florida Man had dinner last night with a colleague who now is Director of Media Relations for the Broward County State Attorney.
We ate at a Salvadoran dive in Fort Lauderdale. The food was good, pork chunks for her and smothered steak for me. Not great, but everything doesn’t have to be great. Conversation was great.
I asked her what was new in her world and she told me of a case they are working on that is so grim I will only outline it for you.
As background, I was a police reporter for 15 years. I covered tragedies big and small all over the country.
There were countless shootings, stabbings, suicides, car and airplane crashes, kidnappings, fires, hurricanes , floods, the Oklahoma City and World Trade Center disasters and the one that hastened my retirement.
A father and daughter, riding in a fund raising event were hit by a car. The little girl died. The family was generous with their time and information. Covering that story was too hard. I quit within a month.
This is also the kind of story that will make you quit. Thanks to Paula for the information.
On Christmas Day, 2023, a 7-year-old boy was found dead in his home. He starved to death the autopsy showed. Doctors said he appeared to have been dead for some time.
The child had many medical problems and had 24-hour nursing care, but apparently wasn’t getting it. Investigators found 264 unopened bottles of his feeding formula. Medicaid fraud was also involved.
Five people have been arrested and are being held in Broward County Jail. They include his mother, a brother, his maternal grandfather, the owner of the service providing health care and a nurse. Four of them are being held without bond.
The charges include first degree murder, child neglect, manslaughter and Medicaid fraud.
The penalties range from five years to life in prison or the death penalty.
How could such a thing happen in a civilized society? A detective once told me that anyone can do anything to anyone else at any time. He is so right.
As a young reporter I would have covered this case without question. I wouldn’t have been able to cover it at the end of my career.
