Share and Follow
A man from Florida, found guilty of the murder of a 5-year-old girl by leaving her in the Florida Everglades, has been spared the death penalty. This decision was handed down by a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge on Friday.
The resentencing trial for Harrel Braddy, which commenced on January 20, concluded on Friday afternoon. The case pertained to the tragic death of Quatisha Maycock in 1998.
The jury’s verdict means that Braddy, now 76 years old, will avoid capital punishment and instead serve a life sentence, as reported by the Miami Herald.
According to NBC Miami, the trial dredged up painful memories for the family of the young victim. In her address to the jurors, State Attorney Abbe Rifkin painted a picture of the young girl whose life was cruelly cut short.
“She was five years old. She was smart. She was loving. She was sweet like candy,” Rifkin stated, capturing the essence of the child’s vibrant personality.
In 2007, a jury found Braddy guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and related charges stemming from the November 1998 incident, after he abducted Quatisha and her mother, Shandelle Maycock.
Prosecutors said he left the child in an area commonly referred to as “Alligator Alley,” where alligators attacked and killed her.
During the resentencing trial, Maycock testified in court, facing Braddy once again. She told jurors she met Braddy and his wife through a church group in the late 1990s and that the couple initially appeared supportive.
“I am here if you need me. I am here. Just like that, I am here,” Shandelle recalled Braddy telling her early on.
According to her testimony, Braddy offered rides to work and provided her with money.
The relationship reportedly took a violent turn when she asked him to leave her apartment because she had other company arriving.
Prosecutors alleged Braddy then attacked her, throwing her to the ground, climbing on top of her, and choking her.
“You used me,” Maycock testified, recalling what Braddy said during the assault.
Authorities said Braddy then forced both Maycock and Quantisha into a car, later leaving the mother near U.S. 27, near the “Broward-Palm Beach county line,” Tampa Bay Times reports.
Maycock testified that Braddy beat her until she lost consciousness. She later regained awareness and managed to find help.
Police later found Quantisha’s mutilated body near a canal. Prosecutors said her injuries were consistent with a fatal animal attack.
“Deep into her skull, teeth marks, where an alligator tried to bite her head,” Rifkin told jurors while describing the evidence.
Officials overturned Braddy’s 2007 death sentence in 2017, after the U.S. Supreme Court deemed Florida’s death penalty unconstitutional.
The decision led the Florida Supreme Court to vacate multiple death sentences. Braddy faced the death penalty again, under Florida’s 2023 revised death penalty law.
Court records indicated that Braddy had an extensive criminal history before the incident. He had been sentenced to 30 years in prison but was released approximately 18 months before the murder.
[Feature Photo: Family Handout]