DAVENPORT, Fla. — The mother of a 4-year-old boy was arrested in the death of her son whom she adopted from Haiti, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.
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Sheriff Grady Judd said Patricia Saint Izaire, 36, took her child to the hospital after his older brother found him unresponsive.
The child succumbed to his injuries at Orlando Health Hospital, where an examination revealed the child had abdominal bleeding that surgery couldn’t heal, according to a report.
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An autopsy on the child revealed he had a severed liver from a blunt force trauma injury, bruises on his arms and legs and scars all over his body -- showing signs of consistent abuse.
The Sheriff’s Office’s’ investigation revealed a history of abuse leading up to the boy’s death, including a video of the boy being thrown into a pool with his hands tied behind his back.
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During initial interviews with the child’s older teenage brother, he denied being abused or witnessing abuse.
But after he was placed into the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families, he then told detectives that Saint Izaire told him, “When they ask you something, say nothing so I don’t get in trouble,” and that she threatened to kill him with a gun, Judd said.
The older brother found the boy struggling to sit up when he went to feed him and told his mother.
She told him he was “faking it” and to feed him, Judd said.
That’s when the boy was found unresponsive and his older brother began performing CPR on the child.
He then told Saint Izaire they needed to take him to the hospital.
Saint Izaire was arrested on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and tampering with a witness.
The Sheriff’s Office said it is still investigating the child’s death.
Saint Izaire will face a judge Thursday for her first appearance.
Watch Judd’s full new conference below:
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