Family and Caregivers of 7-Year-Old Boy Charged in His Christmas Day 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.

The news comes after Deonte Atwell died on Dec. 25, 2023, two days after his seventh birthday, in what prosecutors say was a result of “severe malnutrition.”

Autopsy findings for Deonte, who was seven pounds at the time of his death and described as a “medically complex child,” showed that his bones were protruding through gaping holes in his skin, the Broward State Attorney’s Office said while announcing the arrests in a press release on Wednesday, Sept. 11.

Deonte required “around-the-clock skilled nursing care” due to having thoracic spina bifida, a condition that occurs when the spine and spinal cord don’t form properly, according to the Mayo Clinic, and hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid in the brain. He also had a breathing tube and a feeding tube.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department, who responded to the original 911 call that reported Deonte as being in respiratory distress, said in a separate news release that a thorough investigation showed 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 family members include his mother, Michelle Doe, 37, who had previously made a GoFundMe campaign asking for funeral funds for her “baby boy,” whom she claimed had died “due to his birth defects.”

Doe and Deonte’s 21-year-old brother, Tyreck Irvin, have been charged with murder in the first degree, aggravated manslaughter of a child, aggravated child abuse and two counts of neglect of a child.

They also face charges connected to the neglect of two other boys, ages 9 and 16 at the time, who lived at the residence.

James Graham, Deonte’s 70-year-old grandfather, has been charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child, neglect of a child and failure to report child abuse.

According to the Broward State Attorney’s Office, evidence found at Deonte’s home included 264 unopened bottles of feeding formula, which established that he died “during a scheme to defraud Medicaid, conservatively estimated at more than $10,000 but less than $50,000.”

Mirlande Moltimer Ameda, 47, the owner of Samaritin Home Care Provider, Inc., has been charged with felony murder in the third degree, aggravated manslaughter of a child, Medicaid fraud and neglect of a child.

Cassandre Lassegue, the 33-year-old nurse assigned to care for Deonte, was charged with murder in the first degree, aggravated manslaughter of a child, felony murder in the third degree, aggravated child abuse, and Medicaid fraud.

“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,” said Detective Jacqueline Sanchez while speaking with reporters on Wednesday, per WPLG.

According to the Broward State Attorney’s Office, Irvin, Ameda and Lassegue are being held at the Broward County Jail without bond. If Graham posts his $22,000 bond, he will be placed on house arrest and outfitted with a GPS monitor. Doe is scheduled to make her first appearance in court on Thursday, Sept. 12.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.