Qwentosha Massaquoi, 46, and Louis Massaquoi, 47, of Lehigh Acres, Florida had been arrested final week and charged with aggravated manslaughter and aggravated youngster abuse following the demise of their son.

The arrest comes after months of investigation from the Lee County Sheriff’s Workplace, who’ve name the kid’s demise “tragic and merciless.”

“This poor youngster endured extended struggling earlier than his dad and mom finally let him die,” the sheriff mentioned in an announcement. “We’re proud to work alongside the State Legal professional’s Workplace in bringing these accountable to justice, and we’ll proceed to help their efforts to safe a prolonged conviction.”

Deputies had been dispatched to the Massaquoi dwelling on January 27, 2025, after Louis referred to as 911 and mentioned “his son was weak and probably handed away,” this in line with a possible trigger affidavit obtained by Regulation&Crime. Lifesaving measures had been unsuccessful and he was pronounced useless.

In line with his post-mortem, the boy — who was “solely carrying a diaper” when he died and homeschooled alongside his 9-year-old brother — “introduced with apparent indicators of malnourishment and was emaciated with all bones seen.” He was additionally “severely dehydrated, malnourished, and very emaciated.”

The dad and mom instructed deputies “the boy had change into in poor health however that they selected to not search medical remedy,” mentioned the Sheriff. Per the possible trigger docs, they mentioned “medical remedy was towards their non secular beliefs,” although he had been experiencing signs together with vomiting and a tough stomach. The mom additionally allegedly instructed authorities they could not get him to eat within the days main as much as his demise, after a dinner of spaghetti on January 23.

Per Fort Myers Information-Press, the dad and mom prayed over the boy, till they realized he wasn’t respiratory and referred to as 911.

When requested in regards to the kid’s weight, Qwentosha allegedly claimed she first seen he was getting skinnier in October, however chalked that and his fatigue to “going by way of puberty.” She allegedly mentioned they thought he would “ultimately fill again out weight-wise” following what they thought was “a progress spurt.”

After executing a search warrant on the dad and mom’ cell telephones, authorities discovered what the sheriff referred to as “quite a few regarding web searches associated to medical signs, remedies, and youngster demise” — in addition to movies of the dad and mom “taunting” the boy.

Per the affidavit, the movies confirmed the daddy “mocking, taunting, and denying the decedent primary nourishment, similar to water, when he requested for it.” He additionally allegedly was seen “poking on the decedent with [a] stick and making enjoyable of him for carrying diaper.”

“Movies had been discovered of Louis Sr. taunting and making enjoyable of the decedent by saying, ‘Oh, [you’re] thirsty, oh, you need water, you all the time need water,’” reads the affidavit, citing “one other the place Louis Sr. takes [a] bottle of water from the decedent and says he cannot have it and you’ll hear the decedent asking for the water. Louis Sr. can be seen mocking the decedent about all the time being thirsty.”

Each dad and mom had been allegedly current when the movies had been recorded, which authorities consider exhibits “that each dad and mom had been maliciously torturing, punishing, and mistreating the decedent.”

The movies additionally allegedly confirmed that the boy “seemed to be in good well being” till round October 2024. After that, authorities mentioned he “started to look unhealthy as a consequence of weight reduction and lack of shade in his face.”

One telephone additionally got here up with web searches for “what to do when a baby dies” and “what to do when an individual dies in Florida,” about 10 minutes earlier than the dad and mom referred to as 911. On the opposite telephone, in the meantime, they discovered searches for “unexplained weight reduction,” “distended stomach,” “extreme thirst” and “urinary incontinence.”

As for the dad and mom saying “medical remedy was towards their non secular beliefs,” investigators additionally discovered the mom had oral surgical procedure and a blood transfusion this 12 months.

The 2 are nonetheless in custody at Lee County Jail.

If you’re experiencing or witness youngster abuse, name the Childhelp Nationwide Little one Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Little one or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. Should you consider a baby is in speedy hazard, name 911.