LAKELAND, FL – A 36-year-old Florida woman, Patricia Saintizaire, is being held in custody facing serious charges related to the death of her 4-year-old adopted son from Haiti, as per the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Saintizaire is confronted with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and witness tampering charges in connection with the death of young Bryan Boyer, as stated by Sheriff Grady Judd. The sheriff expressed his disbelief and horror at the severity of abuse inflicted on the child, who he said was beaten to death.
Saintizaire, who also adopted a 16-year-old boy from Haiti, now has her elder son placed under protective custody.
The Sheriff’s office was alerted by Orlando Health Hospital on May 2 about a 4-year-old boy who died under suspicious circumstances. A medical examination revealed an abdominal bleed that could not be rectified through emergency surgery. The boy’s body was then transferred to the District 9 Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.
The autopsy report confirmed that the child died from assault and blunt force trauma, ruling the death as a homicide. The report also showed old and new scarring on the boy’s back, a deep laceration on his liver, and bruising and hemorrhaging to his arms and legs. These injuries, the medical examiner concluded, were consistent with ongoing abuse.
The boy was initially taken to Heart of Florida hospital in Davenport, where the family resided, but was airlifted to Orlando Health due to the severity of his injuries. Saintizaire took him to the hospital following her elder son’s insistence, who was performing CPR on the child at home.
Upon initial questioning, the 16-year-old stated that he was not abused and did not witness any abuse. However, after being placed in protective custody, he revealed that Saintizaire had instructed him to remain silent to avoid trouble and had threatened him with a gun. He also disclosed that both he and his brother were physically disciplined with a belt and a homemade hitting device when they lived in Haiti.
Saintizaire’s husband, who was confirmed to be at work during the incident, stated that he was not involved in disciplining the children. Saintizaire denied any use of physical punishment on the children. However, detectives found two videos on her phone from home surveillance cameras showing Saintizaire allegedly assaulting the 4-year-old.