A Florida grandmother has been sentenced to five years in prison after her infant granddaughter died in a hot car while in her care. Sadly, it wasn’t the first time — another grandchild had died under her watch less than a year earlier.
The tragedy has left people heartbroken, wondering how something like this could happen twice. Now the family is grieving not only the loss of two young children, but also the painful reality of who was responsible.
Lunch with friends turned into a tragedy
Back on November 1st, 2022, Tracey Nix had her seven-month-old granddaughter, Uriel, with her. She brought the baby along to lunch with some friends.
Security footage showed her buckling Uriel into the car seat around 1:40 in the afternoon, and then heading back to her place in Wauchula — it’s just a short 10-minute drive.
The car was parked, the baby forgotten
Once she got home, Tracey parked, rolled the windows up, and went inside. She ended up talking to her dog and playing the piano for a while.
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Meanwhile, outside, the car was heating up — and it was a hot day, even for November. Temperatures got up to 90 degrees.
By the time they realized Uriel was still in the car, it was too late. Tracey’s husband tried to do CPR, but she didn’t make it. The baby died from hyperthermia, according to investigators.
She told police she simply forgot
When the police asked what happened, Tracey told them she just forgot.
“The defendant said she parked the car in the yard and forgot the victim was in the back seat and proceeded to inside the house and talk to her dog and practice piano for a ‘long time’ because she had a piano lesson coming up on Thursday,” the affidavit said.
She also told them, “The defendant said she didn’t have ‘anything specific’ on her mind, and it’s not like ‘I was rushing in the house to do anything … I just forgot’.”
It wasn’t the first time a grandchild died in her care
This wasn’t the first time something terrible happened. Less than a year before Uriel died, Tracey had been taking care of her other grandchild, Ezra — he was just 16 months old.
She fell asleep, and during that time, Ezra managed to get out, slip under a fence, and ended up in a nearby pond. He drowned.
The charges could’ve led to decades behind bars
Tracey did get charged. She was found guilty of leaving a child in a car and causing serious harm. But she wasn’t convicted of aggravated manslaughter — that one could’ve landed her in prison for up to 30 years.
In the end, the sentence was five years
In the end, she didn’t take the stand to testify. The court gave her five years behind bars. She told them she truly didn’t realize Uriel was still in the car.
She spoke through guilt, not excuses
She said: “I literally forgot for a long period of time. I’m broken about what happened. I don’t want to leave anyone with the thought that I’m making excuses, because I’m not.”
Her daughter faced her in court
Her daughter, Kaila Nix-Schock — who’s also Uriel and Ezra’s mom — spoke at the sentencing. She’s lost both of her kids while they were being watched by her own mother.
“I still love you. I hate this,” Nix-Schock said in tears, Fox 13 Tampa reports. “I hate that I have to choose, but you know I had to. But it doesn’t change my heart.”
The judge didn’t buy her remorse
After delivering the sentence, Judge Brandon Rafool didn’t seem convinced Tracey was fully owning up to what happened.
“Uriel is not an isolated incident. I do not believe she is showing remorse; I believe she is showing sorrow.”
It’s the kind of heartbreak no family should ever face — not once, and definitely not twice. All anyone’s left with now are the what-ifs.
