A woman charged in the starvation death of 7-year-old Fort Lauderdale boy Deonte Atwell has pleaded guilty in Broward County court, according to local media, marking a major turn in a case that has put the spotlight on home-health oversight and alleged Medicaid fraud. Deonte, a medically complex child, died on Christmas Day 2023 after prosecutors say he was rushed to a hospital severely malnourished, even as investigators later found unused formula and signs of possible billing abuses tied to his care.
Plea Reported In Broward Courtroom
The guilty plea was reported Thursday by Local 10, which said a woman charged in the case appeared in a Broward County courtroom and entered a guilty plea. The station’s brief report did not specify which of the defendants took the plea or the exact charges involved. Those details are expected to be spelled out in court filings in the coming days, according to Local 10.
Prosecutors’ Account Of The Death
The Broward State Attorney’s Office has said in a news release that Deonte was pronounced dead on Dec. 25, 2023 and that an autopsy found he died of severe malnutrition. The 7-year-old weighed about seven pounds at the time, with bones protruding through his skin. Investigators reported finding more than 260 unopened bottles of his prescribed feeding formula inside the home and say the death unfolded amid an alleged scheme to defraud Medicaid. The state attorney announced indictments charging five adults in the case: the child’s mother, Michelle Doe; his brother, Tyreck Irvin; his grandfather, James Graham; Samaritin Home Care owner Mirlande Moltimer (also known as Mirlande Ameda); and a home health registered nurse, Cassandre Lassegue, according to the Broward State Attorney's Office.
Questions About Oversight And Care
Reporting by the Miami Herald has detailed how the safety net around medically complex children appeared to fail Deonte. The paper noted that he was enrolled in a program that was supposed to provide 24-hour nursing care, which prosecutors say never actually materialized. “This child died a horrifying death,” a pediatric specialist told the Herald, as investigators described alleged falsified billing and missed nursing shifts that left the boy without the round-the-clock care he was supposed to receive, according to the Miami Herald.
What’s Next In Court
The case is being handled by the Broward State Attorney’s Office Child Abuse and Fatality Unit, and court filings outline potential punishments that range from years in prison on aggravated manslaughter and child-abuse charges to life imprisonment or, for a capital first-degree murder conviction, the death penalty. Several defendants are still in custody while pretrial proceedings continue, and upcoming hearings and court records are expected to clarify which counts were resolved by Thursday’s guilty plea, according to CBS Miami.
