Tracey Nix, a 65-year-old grandmother from Florida, has been charged with aggravated manslaughter after leaving her 7-month-old granddaughter, Uriel Schock, in a hot car with the windows rolled up. According to a complaint affidavit, Nix left the baby in the SUV with temperatures reaching 90 degrees while she practiced piano inside her Wauchula home in November 2022.
Nix allegedly told investigators that she “just forgot” about the baby. It wasn’t until one of her other grandsons came to her home that she remembered Uriel, who had been in the car all afternoon after they returned to the house, as reported by WFTS.
William Fletcher, the attorney representing Nix, said, “Because somebody dies doesn’t necessarily mean that somebody has to pay. This obviously was an accident, and the question was—is it culpable negligence?”
It’s unclear if Nix has entered a plea to the charge.
Uriel’s mother, Kaila Schock, said, “To think of the last moments of her life as a mother is gut-wrenching.” She had asked her mother to babysit while she went to get her hair done.
The family experienced a similar tragedy in 2021 when Uriel’s 16-month-old brother, Ezra, died while in Nix’s care, Kaila told WFTS. The toddler reportedly drowned in a nearby lake while Nix, a former school principal in Hardee County, was asleep. However, Nix was never charged in that incident.
“There wasn’t a moment to get a grip of the death of my son before there was the life of my daughter,” said Kaila, who was six months pregnant at the time of her son’s death, according to WFTS.
