Florida grandmother who left infant in hot car found not guilty of manslaughter

BARTOW, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida grandmother was acquitted of manslaughter in the death of her 7-month-old granddaughter, but was convicted on a lesser charge.

A jury in Polk County found Tracey Nix guilty of leaving a child unattended in a vehicle longer than 15 minutes causing great bodily harm. However, they determined she was not guilty of aggravated manslaughter of a child.

“It does sting," said Drew Schock, the victim's father. "I’m thankful though that we did get something."

“I was relieved to hear that there was going to be accountability and ownership and a conclusion to this part of the story,” said Kaila Nix, Tracey Nix’s daughter.

Kaila Nix had left her 7-month-old baby girl, Uriel Schock, in her mother’s care in November 2022. Uriel died after the baby's grandmother left her in her car for hours.

A medical examiner testified Wednesday she died of hyperthermia.

Uriel's death was not the first loss suffered by the family.

"One of the things that we have struggled with through this whole case has been the exclusion of my other story, which is my son who drowned in her care,” Kaila Nix said.

Due to a ruling by the judge, jurors did not hear anything about Kaila Nix and Drew Schock’s other child, Ezra, who died before Uriel. The 16-month-old drowned in a pond after wandering away while Nix was asleep.

"The destruction that has come from this process is pretty unfathomable as well," said Kaila Nix after the verdict. "My kids are dead but I've lost a lot more than that."

While presenting its case for the aggravated manslaughter of a child charge, the state tried to show Nix’s negligence was criminal or "culpable." Nix's defense attorney argued the death was an accident.

“Please don’t make this terrible situation worse by convicting Tracey Nix of something that she’s not guilty of,” said her attorney, Bill Fletcher, during closing arguments.

After the verdict, Fletcher said he considered the aggravated manslaughter acquittal a “win.”

“I want to thank the jury," Fletcher said. "They did their job. They made an appropriate decision in this case. We certainly intend to appeal."

Fletcher said the judge did not allow “intent” to be included in jury instructions for the charge for which Nix was convicted.

She will be sentenced in April and faces up to five years in prison.