A 17-year-old boy died at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa weighing just 48 pounds and severely malnourished, and police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that the boy weighed 48 pounds and was severely malnourished when he died. Tampa police have not released additional details about what led to the teen’s hospitalization or the investigation now underway.
How Florida Handles Malnutrition Reports
The Florida Department of Children and Families says any report alleging malnutrition triggers a mandatory referral to the state’s Child Protection Team.
A Painful Pattern of Severe Child Malnutrition Cases
Tampa has seen a case like this before. In an earlier investigation, police said a Tampa woman, Jamie Marie Hicks, starved, beat and tortured her children, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Hicks was held in the Hillsborough County jail on aggravated child abuse charges, while a second person, Vernon Courtney Lovell, faced accusations of child neglect in that case, the newspaper reported.
Similar cases have surfaced elsewhere in recent reporting. A woman was charged after a 12-year-old girl was reportedly found suffering from severe malnutrition and weighing 47 pounds, according to ABC News 4. In another case described by Local 12, police said a severely underweight girl was so thin that the bone structure in her feet and hands could be seen.
No details have been released about who was caring for the Tampa teen or what investigators believe led to his condition. The Tampa Bay Times report does not identify the boy by name, and it remains unclear whether anyone has been arrested or charged in connection with his death.
