Stepmother, Father In Jail Following Death Of Toddler
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HOLLYWOOD (CBSMiami) - The stepmother and biological father of a Hollywood toddler, who was found dead inside his home last week, have been arrested.
Analiz Osceola, 24, who's two months pregnant according to court documents, was arrested Wednesday in the death of three-year old Ahziya Osceola.
Analiz Osceola is charged with aggravated manslaughter, child neglect, and providing false information to law enforcement.
Ahziya Osceola's father, Nelson Osceola, 25, is charged with child neglect.
"Little Ahziya had a very difficult time in life. In his first three years of life, he endured what we believed to be a significant amount of pain," said Hollywood Police Chief Frank Fernandez.
Analiz Osceola was Baker Acted Friday and had been in the psychiatric ward until she and her husband were arrested.
Click here to watch Oralia Ortega's report.
When he spoke about Analiz Osceola, he said, "she knew that the child was injured ...they did not seek medical attention."
Police said they determined the cause of death was "blunt force trauma."
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"The child received significant blunt trauma to the body, severely damaging the pancreas, as well as the liver, which ultimately caused the death," said Fernandez.
Fernandez said when they found him, his body was severely bruised.
"It's quite graphic, difficult to disseminate that to the public because we don't want to shock the conscience of individuals, but I will tell you that his body was, from top to body, in many different parts of his body was bruised and he had different bruises, some it appears that occurred over time," Fernandez said.
Nelson Osceola's bond was set at $50,000. Analiz Osceola's bond is $230,000.
Meantime, court documents have revealed a clearer picture of the final hours three-year-old Ahziaya whose body was found hidden inside his family's home.
Last Thursday, a missing child alert was issued for Ahziya. Analiz Osceola told police she went in to wake her stepson around 10:30 a.m. and he was missing. She also told police that her wallet and money were missing from the home, so police considered abduction a possibility, according to court documents.
Crime scene investigators were called to the home to question the family and that's when things began to unravel. They found Ahziya's body in the laundry room.
On further questioning, Osceola reportedly told investigators what had really happened.
Osceola said Thursday morning she was asleep in the same room with her son Cameron, 5, and Ahziya when she heard him grunting, according to investigators. When she got up to check on him he was "slightly cold to the touch, but still warm," according to court documents.
Osceola said she put him on the floor and attempted to do CPR. She then tried to get him to drink some Pedialyte. She reportedly told investigators that she decided this wasn't a good idea and tried to get him to vomit the fluid by sticking her finger down his throat. She again performed CPR and could get a pulse, according to court documents.
Osceola said she didn't tell her mother, Anubis, who was sleeping in another room what was going on even though her mother is a nurse. She said she put Ahziya back in bed.
When Nelson Osceola came home about 10 minutes later, Analiz didn't say anything about their son, according to court documents.
When both her mother and husband left the home around 7 a.m., Osceola put a garbage bag over Ahziya's head, and a second over his lower body, and put him in the box, according to court documents. She then waited four hours to report him missing.
When the boy was located, investigators noted he had extensive bruising from head to toe and that his stomach was distended and bloated. Osceola reportedly told them the bruised came from her son constantly running into things and bumping his head because he was clumsy.
Ramona Genoa, a close friend of the family who spent a lot of time with the child, said Tuesday that she's heartbroken to learn he was likely abused.
"Little baby, you beat him, beat him, beat him. He can do nothing for himself," she said.
Investigators say Osceola, who is two months pregnant, had thoughts of suicide since Ahziya's seven month old sister, Candy, was only two months old.
Investigators say Ahziya's biological mother, who has an extensive police history, lost custody of him a year ago after she was found intoxicated and passed out in a hotel room as the boy wandered throughout the hotel.
During a court hearing Monday, a judge ordered that Candy Osceola and Analiz's son, Cameron Rodezno, be given to Carlene Osceola for temporary custody.
