Multiple family members and home health nurses have been arrested in connection with the murder of a 7-year-old child who was found horribly malnourished on Christmas Day in Fort Lauderdale last year.
Another family member has been arrested in connection with the starvation death of a 7-year-old Fort Lauderdale boy who was found weighing just seven pounds when he was pronounced dead on Christmas Day last year.
Jeremy Graham, the uncle of Deonte Atwell, was arrested Tuesday on charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child, neglect of a child and failure to report child abuse, Fort Lauderdale Police said.
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Police said Atwell may have suffered for months before he was found and pronounced dead on Dec. 25, 2023. Atwell had turned 7 just two days earlier, on Dec. 23, although prosecutors said it appeared he may have been dead "for quite some time."
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The Broward State Attorney's Office said Atwell was diagnosed with thoracic spina bifida and hydrocephalus, had a breathing tube and feeding tube and required around-the-clock skilled nursing care.
But authorities said family members and two home health care employees appeared to have stopped providing him with services, resulting in aggravated abuse and ultimately his death.
Prosecutors said Atwell endured prolonged starvation, and was horribly malnourished and neglected, weighing just seven pounds when he died with bones poking through his skin.
Five other people have been arrested in Atwell's death, including his mother, Michelle Doe, brother, Tyreck Irvin, and grandfather, James Graham.
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The owner of the home health provider, Mirlande Moltimer Ameda, and the nurse assigned to care for Atwell, 33-year-old Cassandre Lassegue, are also charged in his death.
Graham was booked into a Broward jail. Records showed his bond was set at $121,000 on the three charges.
