State won’t seek death penalty for women accused of killing toddler over drinking milk from carton

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The state announced Friday it will not seek the death penalty for the two Orange County women accused of beating a toddler to death for drinking out of a milk carton.

Instead, the women, his mother's roommates, including her ex-girlfriend Lakesha Lewis and Lewis’ mother Callene Barton, will face life in prison for the death of 3-year-old Xavier Mokarzel Satchel.

The state believes Barton threw the child, which caused his death in 2017.

READ: Woman accused of killing Orange County toddler faking insanity, state attorney’s office says

Months after the boy’s death, the state attorney over the case said they would seek the death penalty, but withdrew that motion for both women Friday.

"Our experience in Orange County with capital juries in this particular type of case leads us to believe it would be very difficult for a jury to come back with a unanimous death recommendation and therefore it's not in the interest of justice for us to seek it,” said Assistant State Attorney Ryan Williams.

In court Friday, it was determined that Lewis' trial will be moved up to August.

It’s still unclear if Barton will go to trial. She is currently considered incompetent and is being reevaluated, but the results from that assessment have yet to be released.

The State Attorney's Office said the boy's family learned about the decision not to seek the death penalty and understands why that decision was made.

The toddler’s mother is currently in prison after taking a plea deal on a child neglect charge. She is expected to be a witness in the trials.

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