By TopTrendReportTv

September 12, 2024

**FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Five individuals were indicted and arrested on Wednesday in connection with the tragic starvation death of a 7-year-old child in Fort Lauderdale, according to the state attorney's office.**

Officials reported that 7-year-old Deonte Atwell was discovered deceased on Christmas Day 2023, weighing only seven pounds. The Broward County State Attorney's Office revealed that an autopsy determined Deonte's cause of death as "severe malnutrition," with his bones visibly protruding through large gaps in his skin.

The arrests include Deonte's mother, brother, grandfather, a nurse, and the owner of the home care provider that employed the nurse.

The state attorney's office stated that Deonte was born with thoracic spina bifida and hydrocephalus, classifying him as a "medically complex child." He relied on a feeding and breathing tube and required constant nursing care.

On the day Deonte was found, Fort Lauderdale police and fire rescue responded to a 911 call. Evidence indicates that by the time the child was transported to the hospital, he had been deceased for "quite some time," according to the state attorney's office.

Investigators discovered 264 unopened bottles of Deonte's feeding formula in the home.

Those arrested and their charges include:

- Michelle Doe (37), Deonte's mother:**

- First-degree murder

- Aggravated child abuse

- Aggravated manslaughter of a child

- Neglect of a 16-year-old child

- Neglect of a 9-year-old child

- Tyreck Irvin (21), Deonte's brother:**

- First-degree murder

- Aggravated child abuse

- Aggravated manslaughter of a child

- James Graham (70), Deonte's grandfather:**

- Aggravated manslaughter of a child

- Neglect of a 7-year-old child

- Failure to report child abuse involving a 7-year-old child

-Mirlande Moltimer (47), owner of Samaritin Home Care Provider, Inc.:**

- Aggravated manslaughter of a child

- Third-degree felony murder

- Medicaid provider fraud

- Neglect of a 7-year-old child

- Cassandre Lassegue (33), nurse employed to provide in-home care for Deonte:**

- First-degree murder

- Aggravated child abuse involving a 7-year-old child

- Aggravated manslaughter of a child

- Third-degree felony murder

- Medicaid provider fraud

- Neglect of a 7-year-old child

The suspects were taken into custody and booked into the Broward County Jail on Tuesday.