By Patricia Saintizaire, a 36-year-old woman from Davenport, Florida, has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and tampering with a witness in the tragic death of her adopted 4-year-old son, Bryan Boyer.
The boy, who was born in Haiti and adopted by Saintizaire in April 2023, was brought to the United States along with his 16-year-old brother, also adopted from Haiti.
According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, the investigation into the child’s death has been deeply disturbing. The sheriff’s office was alerted when the boy died at an Orlando hospital under suspicious circumstances.
Investigations revealed that on May 1, the victim had returned home from school “happy and behaving normally, with no injuries,” as evidenced by school bus cameras and interviews.
However, when the older brother was sent to bring food to the victim two hours later, he found the boy unable to walk or sit up on his own.
Despite Saintizaire claiming the child was “faking it,” the victim became unresponsive, prompting the teen to perform CPR and eventually take him to the hospital with Saintizaire.
The child was flown to Orlando Health due to his severe injuries, but ultimately succumbed to his wounds.
An autopsy revealed old and fresh scarring on the boy’s back, a deep liver laceration from blunt force trauma, and bruising on his arms and legs, which the medical examiner deemed consistent with ongoing abuse.
Sheriff Judd stated that the child’s spleen tear could only have been caused by a hard, immediate strike to the abdomen.
During interviews, Saintizaire denied using physical discipline, while her husband, who was not home at the time of the incident, claimed his wife was responsible for disciplining the children.
Initially, the teen brother denied being abused, but later revealed that Saintizaire had coached him to lie and threatened him with a gun.
He also disclosed that both he and the victim had been physically disciplined with belts and a homemade hitting device while living in Haiti.
Shockingly, a search of Saintizaire’s phone uncovered video footage of the alleged abuse, including clips of her hitting the unresponsive child with an unknown object and throwing him into a pool with his hands tied behind his back.
The sheriff’s office noted that Saintizaire seemed unaware of the existence of these videos on her phone.
Sheriff Judd expressed his sorrow for the child’s suffering, stating, “The positive, if you search for a positive, is that he’s in the arms of God right now and he’s no longer being beaten, he’s no longer being punched, he’s no longer being tied up and thrown in the swimming pool.”
The 16-year-old brother has been placed in protective custody, while Saintizaire is set to be arraigned on June 11.
This heartbreaking case serves as a stark reminder of the importance of vigilance in protecting vulnerable children and the need for thorough screening and support for adoptive families.
Credit: Toofab.com
