A Florida mother is behind bars and faces multiple charges in the death of her 4-year-old son, whom she adopted from Haiti in April 2023, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Patricia Saintizaire, 36, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and witness tampering in the death of Bryan Boyer, Sheriff Grady Judd said Wednesday.
“He died because she beat him to death,” Judd said. “It’s beyond my wildest imagination, how could anyone abuse a beautiful little guy the way this child was abused and neglected.”
Saintizaire also has a 16-year-old son whom she adopted in Haiti, who is now in preventive detention.
NAKED FLORIDA WOMAN ARRESTED AFTER BREAKING INTO A NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE, LEAVING HER OWN CHILDREN AT HOME ALONE
Patricia Saintizaire, 36, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and witness tampering in the “horrific” beating death of her 4-year-old adopted son. (Polk County Sheriff's Office)
The sheriff's office said it was notified Thursday, May 2, by Orlando Health hospital staff of a 4-year-old boy who died “in what appeared to be suspicious circumstances” after a medical examination revealed abdominal bleeding which couldn't happen. be repaired by emergency surgery.
The boy's body was transported to the District 9 medical examiner's office for an autopsy which took place the next day. The autopsy ruled the child died as a result of assault or blunt force trauma and ruled the manner of death a homicide.
“What we have learned during this investigation is stomach-churning,” Judd said.
The autopsy showed that the little boy had old and new scars on his back that were believed to have occurred during his last year in Saintizaire in the United States. He also had a deep laceration to his liver, which would have affected him immediately and “caused a rapid deterioration” in his health, the sheriff's office said.
Although he had no broken or fractured bones, the autopsy showed bruising and hemorrhaging on his arms and legs. The medical examiner's final decision was that his injuries were consistent with continued abuse.
“We don’t think we know how much this child suffered,” Judd said.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced charges Wednesday against Patricia Saintizaire in the May 2 death of her 4-year-old son. (Polk County Sheriff's Office/Facebook)
WISCONSIN FATHER ARRESTED FOR CHILD ABUSE AFTER CLAIMING HIS NEWBORN SON WAS HIT BY IPAD
Polk County homicide detectives learned the boy was initially taken to Heart of Florida Hospital in Davenport, where the family lived, but was flown to Orlando Health due to his injuries.
Saintizaire took him to the hospital at the request of his teenage son, who was previously performing CPR on the child at home, according to PCSO.
When detectives first spoke with the 16-year-old, he told them he had not been abused and had never witnessed abuse, but once taken into custody , he said his adoptive mother told him to “not say anything so I wouldn’t find out.” in trouble.” He also said Saintizaire threatened to kill him with a gun, the sheriff's office said.
The teen also told detectives that he and his brother had been physically disciplined with a belt and a homemade punching device when they lived in Haiti before telling them what happened on May 1, the day before the death of 4 year old child.
When the little boy returned home from school that afternoon, he was “happy and acting normally, with no injuries,” the brother told detectives, which was confirmed by a review of bus cameras and from school and through discussions with those who interacted with him.
“Despite the abuse he received, they said he was a happy child,” Judd said.
Bryan Boyer, 4, was adopted from Haiti by Patricia Saintizaire in 2023. (Polk County Sheriff's Office via Fox 13 Tampa Bay)
Several States Report Increase in Child Abuse and Neglect
The teen said he went to another room in the house for about two hours and did not see or hear what happened to his little brother, but noted that he was “incapacitated to walk on his own and had difficulty sitting up on his own” when Saintizaire told him to bring the child something to eat.
She allegedly told the teen that the boy was “faking it” and to simply feed him shortly before he responded. That's when he started performing CPR and insisted they needed to go to the hospital.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Saintizaire's husband, who was “clearly at work,” according to Judd, told detectives he was not involved in disciplining the children. Saintizaire “repeatedly denied” using physical discipline as punishment against any of the children, the sheriff's office said.
While examining his phone, detectives found two home surveillance camera videos showing Saintizaire allegedly hitting the 4-year-old with an unknown object while he was lying face down on the floor, Judd said. Another video showed her throwing the boy into a swimming pool with his hands tied behind his back.
“Our number one goal in this organization is to protect children,” Judd said, “and that's why we prosecute child predators, that's why we prosecute child pornographers, that's why we prosecute molesters children and we certainly pursue child murderers.