What an unimaginable situation…
A grandmother in Florida has been charged after allegedly leaving her 7-month-old granddaughter in a hot car with the windows rolled up for hours. According to a Hardee County Sheriff’s Office complaint affidavit obtained by WFTS earlier this week, 65-year-old Tracey Nix drove home with her infant granddaughter Uriel Schock after grabbing lunch with friends on November 22, 2022. But when she got back to her house in Wauchula, Florida, she told investigators that she “just forgot” about the baby and went inside to practice piano.
It was not until later when one of her grandsons came home that she realized Uriel was in the vehicle all afternoon, during which temperatures reached 90 degrees. Eventually, Tracey’s husband found the little one in the backseat of the car and attempted CPR. Sadly, Uriel did not survive. So, so awful. Uriel’s mom, Kaila Schock, who had asked her mother to babysit while she went to get her hair done that day, expressed to the outlet:
“To think of the last moments of her life as a mother is gut-wrenching.”
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The grandma was soon arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter and leaving a child unsupervised in a motor vehicle, per ABC News. It is unknown whether or not she’s entered a plea to the charge, but her attorney William Fletcher told WFTS in a statement on Monday:
“Because somebody dies doesn’t necessarily mean that somebody has to pay. This obviously was an accident and the question was — is it culpable negligence?”
Our hearts break for this family – especially as this isn’t the first tragedy they’ve dealt with in less than a year. Just days before Christmas in 2021, Kaila shared with WFTS that her 16-month-old son Ezra Schock died in Tracey’s care! The young boy reportedly drowned in a lake nearby while his grandma was asleep. Kaila, who was Pregnant with Uriel at the time, said:
“There wasn’t a moment to get a grip of the death of my son before there was the life of my daughter.”
Tracey was not charged in connection with Ezra’s death at the time, as WFTS reported that the State Attorney’s Office found there “was insufficient evidence to establish culpable negligence” in the incident. Kaila told the outlet that she and her husband, Drew Schock, “didn’t trust [Tracey] at all” after their son’s death. And for a while, their 4-year-old firstborn child wasn’t even allowed over at their grandparent’s home. Kaila explained:
“We were anxious, but I loved my mother and I am a daughter that wanted her mom in her life in some capacity, and in that moment, I thought that I could believe in second chances. When I was told that Ezra’s death was an accident, some sliver child part of me, thought, ‘Ok good, I get to keep this mom. This grandmother. This person.’”
She noted that “the very minor amount of time that she saw my daughter was almost always supervised.” On the day of Uriel’s death, Kaila said she knew her mom’s plans to go to lunch:
“Uri was at a restaurant with other people that I knew and trusted, they were in the friend group and were keeping her safe, and I had supervised many, many, many interactions that this point at my house.”
But as we mentioned before, things took a tragic turn. Kaila recalled the moment someone from the Hardee County Sheriff’s Office showed up at her home to deliver the horrible news:
“He said, ‘Your baby is dead.’ And I said, ‘I’m sorry, what? I know Ezra’s dead. Why are you here, like what — what is this?’ ‘No Kaila, your baby is dead.’”
Drew added:
“You couldn’t fathom it happening twice. Somebody has to answer for that.”
If found guilty of Uriel’s death, Tracey could be sentenced to between 12-30 years in prison. Ultimately, Kaila wants her mom to go to jail for what happened:
“If I’m objective — she needs to go to prison. As her daughter, it kills me to say it. As their mother, I demand it. I will fight for them.”
Meanwhile, Drew noted to the outlet that they’re sharing their story as they want justice:
“I want justice for my son. I want justice because he didn’t get that. And now I got to sit here and expose this. That way, I don’t let what happened to my son happen with my daughter. And just get off scot-free because I couldn’t live with that as a parent.”
What happened here is beyond devastating. We cannot imagine how these parents must be feeling after the two tragedies.
[Image via Hardee County Sheriff]
