A mother abandoned her 1-year-old son on the beach while visiting Central Florida.
After a three-day trial, a Volusia County jury found defendant Shamika Mitchell guilty as charged of Aggravated Child Abuse and Unlawful Desertion of a Child.
On November 8, 2023, Mitchell, who was in Daytona Beach from Detroit, abandoned her 1-year-old son on the beach.
Video surveillance gathered during the investigation shows the defendant walking down a beach access staircase with the toddler in her arms just before midnight. Five minutes later, Mitchell comes back from the beach without him.
The toddler was found by a woman at Main Street and Ocean Avenue closer to 1am. She told Daytona Beach Police that he was in the water on his hands and knees, hands buried in the sand up to his wrists and waves were crashing over his head.
When officers arrived on scene, the toddler was unresponsive, had an elevated pulse and shallow breathing. He was transferred to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children where he was able to recover.
Before the 1-year-old was found, officers questioned Mitchell about where he was. She told them that she left him with his father. However, officers called the toddler’s father and learned he was in Detroit.
The case was investigated by the Daytona Beach Police Department with assistance from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office. Assistant State Attorneys Ashley Terwilleger and Helen Schwartz successfully tried the case for the state. The Honorable Karen Foxman presided over the case and will pronounce sentence at later date.
Mitchell faces up to 35 years in prison for the crimes.
