MIAMI, FL – A shocking case of filicide has shaken the community of Miami-Dade, Florida, where a woman is accused of murdering her 8-year-old son. Shaneka Ann McKinzie, 36, stands charged with first-degree murder in the death of young Jaisyn Burgos, according to local law enforcement officials.
Police report that McKinzie brought her unconscious son to Hialeah Hospital on Tuesday evening where he was pronounced dead. Following a subsequent autopsy performed by a medical examiner, the cause of death was identified as strangulation.
In a chilling turn of events, McKinzie confessed to authorities that she had been plotting the murder of her son for two consecutive days. While he was sleeping in her car’s rear passenger seat, she used a tablecloth to suffocate and strangle him until he ceased to respond. The police reports noted that McKinzie then ran various personal errands, driving around different parts of the county for several hours with her son’s lifeless body in her car.
Miami-Dade Police Detective Andre Martin commented on the case, stating how hard it was to comprehend the mother’s disturbing actions. Martin described McKinzie’s ability to run errands with her child’s body in the car as “unimaginable.”
Following her arrest, McKinzie was ordered to be held without bond in jail during her appearance in court on Thursday. She was also appointed a public defender. It was noted by police and family members that McKinzie, who is reported as homeless, had moved to South Florida from Missouri in the previous year with her son. The boy was not in school, with the mother and son living in various hotels. The father of Burgos had reportedly passed away several years prior.