When 7-year-old Deonte Atwell of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. died of malnutrition on Christmas Day last year, an autopsy revealed that his bones were sticking out through his skin. No one was charged at the time, but local authorities continued to investigate why the young boy died while being around friends and family.
On Sept. 11, the Broward State Attorney’s Office announced that three of his relatives and two of his caregivers have been arrested and charged in connection to the toddler’s death: Michelle Doe, the boy’s mother, Tyreck Irvin, his brother, James Graham, his grandfather, Mirlande Moltimer, a Medicaid provider, and Cassandre Lassegue, a nurse.
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Doe and Irvin, the mother and brother of Atwell, were each charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child, and neglect of a child.
More from the Broward State Attorney’s Office:
Fort Lauderdale Police Department and Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue responded to a 911 call for a child reported to be in respiratory distress shortly before 8 p.m. on December 25, 2023. The child was pronounced deceased less than an hour later at Broward Health Medical Center but doctors said the child appeared to have 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 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.
While the death of Atwell is already bad enough, Doe and Irvin were also charged with the neglect of two other children who were 9 and 16 at the time of Atwell’s death, according to the Broward State Attorney’s Office.
Atwell specifically required around-the-clock care because he was diagnosed as a “medically complex child” who suffered from thoracic spina bifida and hydrocephalus. He also required a breathing and feeding tube.
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