Nationwide — Shamika Mitchell, a 38-year-old mom from Michigan, has been sentenced to fifteen years in jail after abandoning her 1-year-old son within the Florida surf in November 2023. She reportedly left the kid partially buried in moist sand, with waves crashing over his head.
The incident occurred in Daytona Seashore whereas Mitchell was visiting from Detroit along with her kids. Surveillance footage confirmed Mitchell strolling along with her toddler simply earlier than midnight. However minutes later, she was seen leaving the seashore alone with out him.
A girl later found the kid within the water “on his palms and knees, palms buried within the sand as much as his wrists and waves have been crashing over his head,” in line with People.
The toddler was unresponsive when police arrived. He was shortly rushed to Orlando Well being Arnold Palmer Hospital for therapy and later recovered.
Initially, Mitchell falsely claimed to officers she had left her son together with his father. Nevertheless, it was later confirmed that the daddy was in Michigan on the time, not with the kid.
Furthermore, the toddler’s teenage sibling had referred to as 911, telling authorities that Mitchell had been experiencing psychotic episodes earlier than the incident.
At her sentencing, Mitchell was granted credit score for 449 days served and can spend 15 years on probation after her jail time period. She had confronted as much as 35 years in jail, however her public defender argued for a lighter sentence as a consequence of her lack of a prison file and psychological well being points.
