Aggravated manslaughter charges were brought against Tracey Nix, 65, for reportedly leaving Uriel Schock, 7 months old, in a hot SUV with the windows rolled up.
Less than a year after her grandson passed away in her care, a Florida grandmother was accused of killing her granddaughter in a hot vehicle last fall.
According to a Hardee County Sheriff’s Office complaint affidavit obtained by WFTS, Tracey Nix, 65, was charged with aggravated manslaughter for allegedly leaving 7-month-old Uriel Schock in a hot SUV with the windows rolled up in November 2022 while she played the piano inside her Wauchula home.
Uriel Schock. PHOTO: GOFUNDME
To acquire the affidavit, PEOPLE contacted the Hardee County Sheriff’s Office.
The affidavit claims that Nix admitted to detectives that she “just forgot” about the child. The affidavit claims that Uriel returned home from lunch with friends and that she did not realize he had been in the vehicle all afternoon until one of her other grandchildren arrived at the house, according to WFTS.
The source claims that day’s outside temperatures were 90 degrees.
According to the news source, the grandmother’s husband discovered the baby in the SUV’s rear seat. Although CPR was performed on the infant, it was unsuccessful.
Attorney William Fletcher, who is defending Nix, commented to WFTS: “Because somebody dies doesn’t necessarily mean that somebody has to pay. This was an accident, and the question was, is it culpable negligence?”
She might have pleaded to the allegation, but it’s unclear.
“To think of the last moments of her life as a mother is gut-wrenching,” said Uriel’s mother, Kaila Schock, per WFTS. She claimed that she had requested her mother to watch the children while she went to get her hair done.
The family has experienced misfortune in the past as well.
Ezra, a 16-month-old sibling of Uriel, also passed away while under Nix’s care in 2021, a few days before Christmas, according to Kaila, who spoke to WFTS. Nix, a former school principal in Hardee County, was said to have been sleeping when the toddler allegedly drowned in a nearby lake.
“There wasn’t a moment to get a grip of the death of my son before there was the life of my daughter,” said Kaila, who was six months pregnant at the time of her son’s death, according to WFTS.
Nix was never prosecuted concerning Ezra’s passing. WFTS reports “insufficient evidence to establish culpable negligence” in the 2021 incident, citing the State Attorney’s Office.
Soon after Uriel’s passing, a GoFundMe website was set up to assist the couple with funeral and counseling expenses. Since then, more than $22,000 has been collected.
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