Polk County woman accused of killing 4-year old boy ordered to be held without bond
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POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A judge ordered a woman accused of killing a 4-year old boy to be held on no bond as she faces several charges, including first-degree murder.
According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Patricia Saintizaire, 36, inflicted a pattern of abuse on Bryan Boyer, 4, that resulted in his death last week.
Saintizaire, who is originally from Haiti, has been in the United States since 2017.
Saintizaire’s sister, according to the sheriff’s office, started caring for Boyer when he was a baby in Haiti and last year, sent him to Saintizaire through a federal humanitarian program.
While the status of the adoption process is unclear, Saintizaire is considered to be Boyer’s adopted mother.
“They found different layers of bruises and injuries from past beatings and he’s dead. He’s dead because she beat him to death,” said Sheriff Grady Judd.
Two videos provided by the sheriff’s office show incidents before his death. In the videos, a person, alleged to be Saintizaire, is seen beating Boyer and throwing him in a pool as his hands are tied.
Boyer died after being taken to the hospital last week.
The medical examiner determined he died from assault/blunt force trauma.
“This story was shocking. It was appalling. It was gutting. It was everything we do not want to see,” said Jodi Domangue, a leader at One More Child, a child and family advocacy center that serves people all over the world.
She said abuse is often cyclical.
“As unnerving as it is and angry as it makes us, the truth is abusers have a likelihood of abuse and trauma in their background as well,” said Domangue. “This child came from an area with tons of abuse and trauma.”
A teenage boy who also lived in the Davenport home has been placed in protective custody after revealing details about the investigation to detectives.
In court Thursday, Santizaire requested a public defender.
The sheriff said she worked in the corporate office at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits in Orlando.
A representative from the company said Santizaire previously held an entry-level warehouse position but is not employed at ABC in any capacity.
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