WPBF 25 News coverage on Politics<\/a><\/p>\nAccording to an arrest affidavit, Koon told deputies, “She believed a newborn should have two ounces per feeding twice a day. She said when she ran out of formula, she would fill the bottle with regular milk and add water.” <\/p>\n
In the days leading up to the infant\u2019s death, Koon and Robert Maxwell reportedly contacted the baby\u2019s mother and biological father, who lives out of state, via Messenger, stating, “I need you to come to Florida, something’s going on with the baby. I don’t know what’s going on but he has marks all over him.” <\/p>\n
Investigators found the mobile home in poor condition.<\/p>\n
“The house was extremely hot. There was a bug infestation in the home, lack of food in the home and the home was unsafe for walking. There wasn’t an entryway that we could safely make entry into the home,” Diaz said.<\/p>\n
An autopsy revealed the infant was emaciated and had a sunken abdomen and widespread lesions consistent with severe dehydration and malnutrition. <\/p>\n
Tasha Wright, who was with Nicole Maxwell when detectives arrived to arrest her, said Nicole Maxwell claimed she was not present during the events leading to the baby\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
“She told me the whole story she wasn’t there. She had dropped the baby off with her dad,” Wright said. <\/p>\n
Wright expressed disbelief at the allegations, saying, “She is the sweetest person in the world.” <\/p>\n
Detectives are urging the public to report any signs of child abuse.<\/p>\n
“Most of the time, something so small could end up being something so big like this case, and we could potentially save the children’s lives,” Diaz said. <\/p>\n
All three suspects are facing several charges, including aggravated manslaughter.<\/p>\n
St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro released this statement:<\/p>\n
“The loss of a child is heartbreaking. Cases like this weigh heavily on everyone involved, from our investigators and first responders to the members of our community who mourn the death of a vulnerable child. Every child deserves the chance to grow up in a safe, loving, and nurturing home.<\/p>\n
“I am incredibly proud of the relentless dedication of our investigators and all those who worked tirelessly to uncover the truth and ensure those responsible are held accountable. <\/p>\n
“While justice is essential, our shared responsibility must be preventing these tragedies before they occur. Protecting children is not solely the responsibility of law enforcement or the child welfare system. It is a responsibility we all share. If you see signs that a child may be neglected, abused, or living in unsafe conditions, do not assume someone else will intervene. <\/p>\n
“Report it. One phone call can be the difference between a child receiving the help they need and a life being saved. <\/p>\n
“This case also reminds us that families facing difficult circumstances are not alone. <\/p>\n
“Resources, support, and assistance are available. <\/p>\n
“My commitment remains unwavering: to seek justice for victims, hold offenders accountable, and work alongside our community to protect our most vulnerable. By recognizing the warning signs, speaking up, and connecting families with the help they need, we can work together to prevent tragedies like this from happening again.” <\/p>\n
Stay up to date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"3-month-old died from severe dehydration and malnutrition in South Florida home ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 Detectives in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356267,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[2443,19709,142372,6041,265,5507,4561,11578,28,18293,6265,7441,145411,1598,81500,47038,1961,171,173,172,1402,145410,145409,189,164],"class_list":["post-356266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-angela-rozier","tag-baby","tag-bad-case","tag-child-abuse","tag-crime","tag-death","tag-deputy","tag-detective","tag-florida","tag-grandmother","tag-infant","tag-investigator","tag-jennifer-diaz","tag-law-enforcement","tag-maxwell","tag-mobile-home","tag-mother","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news","tag-st-lucie-county","tag-tasha-wright","tag-vikki-koon","tag-wpbf","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Angela](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b0675fa3-b46c-4093-90b7-e40abe38ba8c_1657581014.png\")
<\/a>ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. \u2014<\/p>\n