FL - Deonte Atwell, 7, starved to death weighing 7 lbs - September 11, 2024

[Clearsky]

Mom, brother, grandfather and caregivers are charged with starving 7-year-old disabled boy to death

A mother, grandfather, adult brother and two caregivers in Florida have been charged with the starvation death of a 7-year-old disabled boy.

apnews.com

Deonte’s 37-year-old mother, Michelle Doe, his 21-year-old brother, Tyreck Irvin, and his 33-year-old caregiver, Cassandre Lassegue, are charged with first-degree murder, manslaughter and child neglect. Doe and Irvin are also charged with neglecting two other children, ages 9 and 16.

 

[airportwoman]

How could a 7-year-old weigh SEVEN POUNDS unless they had an extreme case of dwarfism?

 

[DS2021]

How could a 7-year-old weigh SEVEN POUNDS unless they had an extreme case of dwarfism?

Deonte Atwell had spina bifida, a birth defect of the spinal cord, and hydrocephalus, a build up of fluid on the brain. He had both breathing and feeding tubes and required around-the-clock medical care, which Broward County prosecutors say he wasn’t receiving

 

[airportwoman]

I did see that he had serious medical issues. 7 kilograms? Maaaaybe. But 7 POUNDS! That is absolutely mind-boggling.

 

[Eloise]

that's the weight of a newborn baby? not even a big baby, just average

I'm waiting to hear that's a misprint as I literally don't see how it's possible

eta when they say 'likely dead for some time' do they mean like... a long time? they say bones poking through the skin but do they mean like, the skin was deteriorating far beyond what happens just after death? ugh. I'm disgusted

 

[LadyL]

I can't bring myself to read the article.
I'm sorry Deonte. RIP.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Police say they found 264 unopened bottles of his feeding formula in the family home.

Mom, brother, grandfather and caregivers are charged with starving 7-year-old disabled boy to death

A mother, grandfather, adult brother and two caregivers in Florida have been charged with the starvation death of a 7-year-old disabled boy.

apnews.com

I truly hope FULL justice will be served.

My speculation after reading the article: Medicare was paying for a caregiver to feed and care for this child throughout the day, but she did not work anywhere close to the hours they billed, and when she didn't feed him, his family didn't either.
Perhaps he was mostly ignored and had no meaningful life, just left alone in a bed.
Yet his entire family will try to blame only the caregiver, although they ALL should have been caring for him and feeding him and making sure the caregiver was there caring for him. IMO.

I am curious when he was last seen by a medical care provider and how often he was supposed to have appointments.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Mirlande Moltimer, the 47-year-old owner of the service that employed Lassegue, is charged with third-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter and child neglect. Both she and Lassegue also have been charged with Medicaid fraud.

Mom, brother, grandfather and caregivers are charged with starving 7-year-old disabled boy to death

A mother, grandfather, adult brother and two caregivers in Florida have been charged with the starvation death of a 7-year-old disabled boy.

apnews.com

 

[PayrollNerd]

He should have been turned over to the state as an infant, but especially once caregivers (including parents) were making it obvious the baby was not being cared for.

Parents cannot grasp the overwhelming care required initially. They’ve just become parents, moms recovering, the support system they need to understand and maintain, just isn't there long term.

No one advocating for him, they all failed this little tyke. What a horrible painful life he endured. Nobody cared. May they all rot in a cell for the rest of their lives.

 

[GRT]

that's the weight of a newborn baby? not even a big baby, just average

I'm waiting to hear that's a misprint as I literally don't see how it's possible

eta when they say 'likely dead for some time' do they mean like... a long time? they say bones poking through the skin but do they mean like, the skin was deteriorating far beyond what happens just after death? ugh. I'm disgusted

I think it's a misprint, too. At seven years of age, his bones would have weighed more than that.

Here's an earlier photo from People:

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I wonder if they received money from the government every month for him, and I wonder if any of them grasp the enormity of what they did.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Boy, 7, Died of 'Severe Malnutrition' on Christmas Day. His Family and Caregivers Are Charged in His Death

An investigation into the death of a 7-year-old boy who died on Christmas Day has led to the arrest of his three relatives and two caregivers in Florida.

people.com

The People article seems to be a thorough summary. It's mind-boggling that the nurses would risk their careers instead of providing the care they were hired to provide. Somehow everyone failed this poor vulnerable child.

 

[Gemmie]

How could a 7-year-old weigh SEVEN POUNDS unless they had an extreme case of dwarfism?

Heck, my cat weighs 9 lbs and she's the perfect weight for her size and she's a CAT. I can't wrap my head around that a 7 yo little person (what they prefer to be called) could weigh 7 lbs!!! Heck, I can't even imagine 17 lbs!! What the what?!?

 

[tlcya]

Boy, 7, Died of 'Severe Malnutrition' on Christmas Day. His Family and Caregivers Are Charged in His Death

An investigation into the death of a 7-year-old boy who died on Christmas Day has led to the arrest of his three relatives and two caregivers in Florida.

people.com

The People article seems to be a thorough summary. It's mind-boggling that the nurses would risk their careers instead of providing the care they were hired to provide. Somehow everyone failed this poor vulnerable child.

so very many adults involved in this tragedy. Not a single one could be counted on to actually care about this child.

I don't even know how to process this one. I can see, and we have seen before here, a houseful of adults that participate or turn a blind eye to the fatal abuse of a child in their home. But the nurse and her boss? OMG, this poor baby. At least his suffering is now over, although how long that suffering lasted is unconscionable. at least SIX MONTHS this baby starved under the eyes of at least five adults and two children.

Investigators found 264 unopened bottles of Atwell's feeding formula in the home, the state attorney's office said.
[snip]
Investigators also found Atwell died during a scheme to defraud Medicaid, conservatively estimated at more than $10,000 but less than $50,000, officials said.

Family, home nurses charged in starvation murder of 7-year-old in Fort Lauderdale

Multiple family members and home health nurses have been arrested in connection with the murder of a 7-year-old child who was found horribly malnourished on Christmas Day in Fort Lauderdale last year.

www.nbcmiami.com

Michelle Doe made her first appearance in a Broward courtroom on Thursday, where she was ordered held without bond.

No bond for Fort Lauderdale mom in starvation murder of 7-year-old who weighed 7 pounds

A Fort Lauderdale mother charged with murder in the starvation death of her 7-year-old son who was found weighing just seven pounds when he was pronounced dead on Christmas Day will be staying behind bars.

www.nbcmiami.com

 

[Goecke]

I'm also genuinely confused over the fact he apparently only weighed seven pounds.
People with spina bifida do tend to be shorter than average, but it seems like in a lot of cases the upper body is normal-sized while the legs are small and underdeveloped. It sounds like some people with spina bifida meet the technical requirement for dwarfism, and there's people with dwarfism who also have spina bifida. Even then I cannot imagine a 7-year-old with spina bifida, even a severely malnourished one, weighing seven pounds.