TRAGIC NEWS: Little Girl, 9, Dies After 325-pound Cousin SITS On Her As Punishment: Report

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A nine-year-old Florida girl died Saturday after her 325-pound cousin allegedly sat on her as a form of discipline.

TRAGIC NEWS: Little Girl, 9, Dies After 325-pound Cousin SITS On Her As Punishment: Report

A nine-year-old Florida girl died Saturday after her 325-pound cousin allegedly sat on her as a form of discipline.

Veronica Green Posey

The Pensacola News Journal reported that Veronica Green Posey, 64, was charged with homicide and cruelty toward a child in connection with Dericka Lindsay’s death. Lindsay was found unresponsive in her Pensacola home at 1:35 p.m. and transported to a local hospital, where she was announced dead.

Grace Joan Smith (Photo: Courtesy of Escambia County Jail)

James Edmund Smith (Photo: Courtesy of Escambia County Jail)

According to the arrest report obtained by the paper, Posey told the responding deputy that she sat on Lindsay as punishment for “being out of control.” However, things took a grim turn when Lindsay reportedly told the adults present that she couldn’t breathe. That’s when Posey was said to have gotten up and performed CPR.

Posey also told the deputy that she weighed about 325 pounds.

The News Journal also reported that police arrested the victim’s parents, Grace Joan Smith, 69, and James Edmund Smith, 62, and charged them with child neglect for not reporting the abuse. The biological relationship between the parents and the child is unclear. Grace is also facing cruelty to a child charges but it’s unclear whether they’re related to Saturday’s incident.

The child’s parents, Grace Joan Smith, 69, and James Edmund Smith, 62, (pictured left and right) are also facing charges for allegedly failing to report the abuse. [Image: Escambia County Jail]

Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) secretary Mike Carroll revealed in a statement to the local paper that the agency previously communicated with the Pensacola family.

“Dericka’s death is appalling and DCF will continue coordinating with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office to hold anyone responsible for her death accountable,” the statement read.

“As the family has a prior interaction with the child welfare system, a thorough quality assurance review will be conducted to review all prior interactions this family has had with the child welfare system.”
Jail records indicated that Posey was released after posting $125,000 bond. Grace and James are still currently jailed with a $75,000 and $50,000 bond, respectively.

Police said a man killed his girlfriend’s 17-month-old son and stole her car stereo and laptop while she was at the hospital with her dying other child.

BREAKING NEWS: Police – Man Kills Girlfriend’s Toddler Son, Then Robs Her

Police said a man killed his girlfriend’s 17-month-old son and stole her car stereo and laptop while she was at the hospital with her dying other child.

The Bradenton Herald reports that 31-year-old David Vickers was being held without bail on charges of second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.

Authorities say Vickers was taking care of Luca Sholey while the child’s mother was at work. Vickers claimed he put the boy to bed and found him unresponsive when he checked on him an hour later.

An autopsy determined Sholey’s death was caused by blunt-force trauma to his brain. The toddler also had bruises on his chest accompanied by six broken ribs.
Vickers was also charged with theft after police say he pawned a car stereo and computer owned by Sholey’s mother.

Luca was pronounced dead on Aug. 25, four days after Vickers called his girlfriend to tell her that she needed to come home in the 200 block of Peacock Lane because her little boy wasn’t breathing.

Luca was taken to Blake Medical Center and then airlifted in critical condition to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg.

Luca’s death is believed to have been caused by asphyxiation.

According to the Holmes Beach Police Department, Vickers was in possession of multiple photos and three videos that are believed to have been taken shortly after Luca was abused on numerous occasions. One of the videos is 48 seconds long and depicts Luca “lying on his back on a mattress in significant respiratory distress,” an arrest report states.

Police questioned Vickers about the video, which he admitted that he took on Aug. 18, according to police. Vickers said he found Luca that way and wanted to document the event for Luca’s mother, but he didn’t attempt to call 911 at the time. According to an affidavit, Vickers said he handled the situation “poorly” and had used heroin earlier that day.

During the investigation, detectives found Luca was frequently abused. Medical examiners found evidence of six rib fractures in separate stages of healing. Two of them appeared to have happened about 10 days before Luca was pronounced dead.

Luca had recently been diagnosed with pink eye and thrush, an infection that allows a white rash to grow in the mouth. Both conditions were found to be misdiagnosed.

Luca’s pink eye and thrush were both determined to be caused by trauma to the eye and upper lip. Luca’s other injuries include bruising to the chest, a possibly fractured thumb, a thin hemorrhage in the brain and a liver injury.

An autopsy confirmed that Luca’s brain was swollen and that he had various stages of broken ribs, but further tests were required to determine the cause of death, according to police reports.

Vickers claimed that on the night of Aug. 21, the boy had fallen down the stairs while playing with his sister and hit his head, ultimately developing a brain injury. At 8:40 p.m., Vickers said he placed Luca down in bed on his back, then came back an hour later to find him face down in a pillow and beginning to turn blue. Vickers then called Luca’s mother and 911.

Medical experts say it would have been impossible for Luca to turn over on his own, as he would have been unconscious from the injury he suffered, according to police reports.

Doctors pronounced Luca brain dead on Aug. 25, but his parents kept him alive long enough to have his organs donated to those in need. Eric Sholey, Luca’s father, said his son’s organs saved the lives of two little girls and a 54-year-old man.

Vickers served a prison sentence from September 2014 until May 18 of this year after he was convicted of trafficking stolen property and defrauding a pawn broker.

Vickers is currently in Manatee County jail and being held without bond.

The Holmes Beach Police Department worked with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office to conduct the criminal investigation. Another investigation is being handled by the sheriff’s office Child Protection Investigative Division, which handles all child welfare cases for the Florida Department of Children and Families in Manatee County.