A Florida grandmother has been sentenced to five years behind bars after her infant granddaughter tragically died in a hot car while in her care.
Tracey Nix had been babysitting seven-month-old Uriel Schock on 1 November, 2022 and took her to lunch with friends. CCTV footage showed the grandmother strapping the youngster into the car seat at around 1.40pm, before taking the 10-minute journey home to Wauchula.
The grandmother then parked the car and rolled the windows up, before heading inside to talk to her dog and practice the piano.
Tragically, Uriel ended up dying inside the hot car, with WFTS reporting the temperature had soared to 90 degrees on that particular November day.
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After realizing Uriel had been left in the scorching hot car and was in serious danger, Nix’s husband began performing CPR, but the youngster died of hyperthermia, investigators stated.
In a police interview, Nix said she had 'just forgotten' about the infant.
“The defendant said she parked the car in the yard and forgot the victim was in the back seat and proceeded to inside the house and talk to her dog and practice piano for a ‘long time’ because she had a piano lesson coming up on Thursday,” the affidavit said.
“The defendant said she didn’t have 'anything specific' on her mind, and it’s not like 'I was rushing in the house to do anything ... I just forgot'."
The horrific incident came less than a year after 16-month-old Ezra Schock, Nix's other grandchild, died from drowning while in her care after she fell asleep.
The toddler wandered under a fence near his grandparents' home and ended up in a pond.
Nix has previously been found guilty of leaving a child unattended in a vehicle and causing great bodily harm, while she was found not guilty of of aggravated manslaughter - a crime that could have saw the grandmother spend up to 30 years behind bars.
Nix has been handed a five year prison sentence after not testifying in court, while admitting she did not realize her granddaughter was in the car.
She said: "I literally forgot for a long period of time. I’m broken about what happened. I don’t want to leave anyone with the thought that I’m making excuses, because I’m not."
Kaila Nix-Schock spoke directly to her mother at her sentencing, who has lost two of her children due to Nix's actions.
“I still love you. I hate this,” Nix-Schock said in tears, Fox 13 Tampa reports. “I hate that I have to choose, but you know I had to. But it doesn’t change my heart.”
After handing his sentencing, Judge Brandon Rafool said: "Uriel is not an isolated incident. I do not believe she is showing remorse; I believe she is showing sorrow."
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact The Compassionate Friends on (877) 969-0010.
Callum Jones