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    • Mother faces trial after baby found abandoned in Daytona Beach surf
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    Mother faces trial after baby found abandoned in Daytona Beach surf

    Online Niel Posted on

    A prosecutor told jurors that Shamika Mitchell “spun a web of lies” when asked about the whereabouts of her 1-year-old child.

    A couple was taking a walk on the sands of Daytona Beach about a year ago when the woman I saw something in the surf.

    She thought it was some kind of sea animal. But when he got closer, he realized it was a small child struggling to survive, a prosecutor said during a trial Wednesday.

    The child was abandoned in the middle of the “cold” night by his mother, Shamika Mitchell, who then “spread a web of lies” about what she had done, Assistant District Attorney Ashley Terwilleger told jurors in her opening statement.

    “He was only a year old when he fought for his life for 40 minutes with the tide up, waves crashing over his head,” Terwilleger said.

    Mitchell, 38, sat at the defense table with her two assistant public defenders at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach. Mitchell is on trial on charges of unlawful abandonment of a child, a third-degree felony, and aggravated child abuse, a first-degree felony.

    Circuit Judge Karen Foxman is presiding over the trial before a jury of seven men and one woman.

    Assistant Public Defenders Rachel Brothers and Odell Brown are representing Mitchell.

    Brown began his opening statement by talking about “mental health,” drawing a quick objection from Terwilleger. The lawyers then held a sidebar with the judge. What was discussed in the sidebar was, as usual, unknown. But when Brown returned, he didn’t bring up the subject again.

    Instead, Brown said the defense agreed with most of the facts of the case. But Brown told jurors the child suffered no serious bodily harm, permanent disfigurement or permanent disability. These are elements of aggravated child abuse.

    “The state would have you believe that (the child) suffered great bodily harm,” Brown said. “You won’t find any evidence of that.”

    Prosecutor: Michigan mother spins ‘web of lies’ about missing child

    In her opening statement, Terwilleger, who along with Assistant District Attorney Helen Schwartz is prosecuting the case, told jurors that Mitchell was vacationing in Daytona Beach with her five childrenincluding the 1-year-old child.

    Mitchell drove his van to the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Dimitrie at 129 N. Halifax Ave., where a security guard gave her permission to spend the night with her children in the van in the parking lot.

    But the security guard saw Mitchell get out of the van shortly before midnight on Nov. 7, 2023, and cross the street toward the ocean. Mitchell was carrying something that she was trying to cover with a red blanket or towel, Terwilleger said.

    The guard saw Mitchell return about 30 minutes later and then heard screams from the van. The guard called the police at 12:17 on November 8, 2023.

    When Daytona Beach police arrived, Mitchell told an officer that he had dropped off the child at the 7-11 with his father and they were probably going back to Michigan.

    “This is when the defendant begins his web of lies,” Terwilleger said.

    Mitchell told police the child was safe, Terwilleger said.

    “For over 20 minutes he sits there and lies to law enforcement about where the child is,” Terwilleger said.

    A woman discovers a child struggling in the surf and springs into action

    While the police were questioning Mitchell, a couple, who also happened to be from Michigan, were taking a walk on the beach.

    The woman saw something in the water. When she got closer, she was shocked to see that there was a child on his hands and knees struggling in the waves. Waves were crashing over him as he tried to keep his head above water, Terwilleger said.

    The woman sprang into action, picked up the child and went to Main Street Approach where she asked someone to call 911.

    They removed the baby’s wet clothes and diapers and tried to keep him warm, Terwilleger said.

    Another policeman heard about the child who was found and rushed to the beach. He arrived and proceeded to take care of the child, putting him in his vehicle and blasting the heat.

    But the child was unresponsive, his eyes were closed and he was cold to the touch, Terwilleger said.

    Paramedics arrived just before 1 a.m. and rushed the child to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach. While working on the young man, a paramedic heard sounds from the child, indicating water in his lungs.

    The child’s core body temperature dropped to 87 degrees, meaning he was hypothermic, Terwilleger said. Hypothermia is a “medical emergency” when the body’s core temperature is below 95 degrees, according to Mayo Clinic websitewho stated that the normal body temperature is about 98.6 degrees.

    The paramedic tried to put an IV in the child, but failed because all of the child’s blood went to the trunk to protect his organs.

    Once at the hospital, the child is intubated and sedated. He is being transferred to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando. The child was intubated for more than 2 1/2 days and remained in the hospital for more than five days, some of that time in the intensive care unit, Terwilleger said.

    Terwilleger also said police later collected surveillance video from the Ocean Center that showed Mitchell carrying the child to the beach and later walking back without him.

    The trial is expected to last until Friday.

    Online Niel
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