FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Five people have been arrested following the Dec. 25, 2023 death of a 7-year-old boy in Fort Lauderdale, police announced Wednesday.
According to Fort Lauderdale police, officers and Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue personnel responded to a home near the 1700 block of Southwest 11th Street shortly before 8 p.m. on Christmas Day in reference to a medical emergency.
Police said the boy, Deonte Atwell, was transported to Broward Health Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
On Wednesday, police issued a news release which stated that the investigation revealed that Deonte had a medical condition that required in-home medical services.
“After a thorough investigation, it was determined 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 news release stated.
6 p.m. report:
A separate news release from the Broward State Attorney’s Office stated that Deonte died of starvation and weighed about 7 pounds at the time of his death.
Police identified the five suspects arrested as:
- Michelle Doe, 37, the mother of the victim, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter of a child, aggravated child abuse and two counts of neglect of a child.
- Tyreck Irvin, 21, the brother of the victim, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter of a child, aggravated child abuse and two counts of neglect of a child.
- James Graham, 70, the grandfather of victim, is charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child, neglect of a child and failure to report child abuse.
- Mirlande Moltimer Ameda, 47, the owner of Samaritin Home Care Provider, Inc., is charged with felony murder in the third degree, aggravated manslaughter of a child, Medicaid fraud and neglect of a child.
- Cassandre Lassegue, 33, a nurse assigned to care for the victim for months prior to his death, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter of a child, felony murder in the third degree, aggravated child abuse and Medicaid fraud.
All five suspects were arrested Tuesday, police said.
According to the state attorney’s office, Deonte “died of severe malnutrition and his bones were protruding through gaping holes in his skin, autopsy findings showed. The victim was diagnosed at birth as a ‘medically complex child’ with thoracic spina bifida and hydrocephalus, he had a breathing tube and feeding tube and required around-the-clock skilled nursing care.”
Prosecutors said he was pronounced dead less than an hour after arriving at the hospital, but doctors told detectives that it appeared that he had been dead for quite some time.
“Investigators found 264 unopened bottles of the victim’s feeding formula in the home, according to the evidence,” the news release stated. “The evidence also established that the victim died during a scheme to defraud Medicaid, conservatively estimated at more than $10,000 but less than $50,000.”
Detective Jacqueline Sanchez spoke to reporters Wednesday and said Lassegue, who was supposed to be caring for Deonte for months before his death, hadn’t even been going to his home as often as she was supposed to.
“Through the investigation, we determined that the nurse that was supposed to be going to the house was sometimes there, had filled out paperwork saying she was there, but she wasn’t. I believe that had she been there, maybe she could have seen the deterioration that Deonte was going through and maybe possibly had said something,” Sanchez said. “It’s sad to say that Deonte had suffered all the way through his death by the people that were supposed to be caring for him the most.”
In addition to the charges related to Deonte, Doe and Irvin are also charged with the neglect of two other boys, ages 9 and 16 at the time, who also lived in the same home.
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department, the Broward State Attorney’s Office Child Fatality and Abuse Unit, and the State Attorney General’s Statewide Medicaid Fraud Control Unit conducted a joint investigation into Deonte’s death, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Homicide Detective Jennifer Saint Jean at 954-828-5570, Homicide Detective Jackie Sanchez at 954-828-5539, or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477).
As of Wednesday morning, Doe, Irvin, Moltimer Ameda and Cassandre Lassegue were all being held in jail without bond. Graham was being held at the Broward County Main Jail on a $22,000 bond.
If he posts bond, Graham will be outfitted with a GPS monitor and will be placed on house arrest, prosecutors confirmed.