Florida woman charged after second grandchild dies in her care

HARDEE COUNTY, Fla. (NewsNation) — A Florida woman is facing charges after two of her grandchildren died while allegedly under her care less than a year apart.

Tracey Nix, 65, told police she forgot 7-month-old Uriel Schock was in her car on a 90-degree day in November, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Fox News. She said she didn’t remember her granddaughter was still in the car until one of her grandsons arrived.

Nix’s husband reportedly performed CPR immediately on Uriel but was unsuccessful.

Nix, a former educator, has now been charged with aggravated manslaughter in connection with the child’s 2022 death and could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

Uriel’s death came less than a year after her brother, 16-month-old Ezra Schock drowned in a pond after wandering away while Nix was asleep.

While his grandfather was away and Tracey Nix was sleeping, authorities say Ezra opened doors, climbed under a fence, and entered a pond near Tracey Nix’s Wauchula home, WTVT reports.

Nix’s daughter, Kaila, who was pregnant with Uriel at the time, rushed to her parents’ house after learning from her father that something had happened to Ezra.

Kaila Nix even got into a head-on collision with another vehicle, she told local outlet WFTS. She said she and her husband didn’t learn that authorities had tried to file charges against her mother until after Uriel’s death.

According to The Daily Mail, police attempted to pursue charges against Tracey Nix for Ezra’s death, but the State Attorney’s Office declined to bring charges.

In a statement to a local news outlet, the State Attorney’s Office said there was “insufficient evidence to establish culpable negligence” in Ezra’s death, but in Uriel’s, “charges have been filed.”

“If I’m objective, she (Tracey Nix) needs to go to prison,” Kaila Nix told WFTS in a recent interview.

Tracey Nix’s attorney, William Fletcher, said Uriel’s death was “obviously an accident.”

Court records show she is set to have a hearing in the coming weeks.