Orlando women accused of killing toddler will not be prosecuted by State Attorney Ayala
07/17/2017 3:10 pm PDT
By Adrienne Cutway, WKMG
ORLANDO, Fla. -- (WKMG) -- Gov. Rick Scott has removed State Attorney Aramis Ayala from prosecuting two Orlando women who are accused of beating a 3-year-old boy to death because he drank milk from the jug.
Scott issued two executive orders Monday to strip the two cases from Ayala and reassign them to neighboring State Attorney Brad King.
Callene Marcia Barton and Lakesha Chantell Lewis were arrested July 7 at Eagle Landing on Silver Star Road in Orlando after authorities arrived to the apartment complex to find 3-year-old Xavier Mokarzel-Satchel unconscious and struggling to breathe, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies said the boy's mother, Brandi Mokarzel, woke up the morning of July 7 to the sound of Barton yelling at Xavier for drinking from a milk jug and eating yogurt. Lewis then repeatedly hit the boy with a plastic rod used to turn window blinds, according to the arrest report.
Mokarzel tried to intervene by taking her son to the bedroom, but Barton then grabbed the boy by his arm and leg and threw him down a hallway, causing his neck to turn, the document said. Xavier then began shaking like he was having a seizure, the report said.
Xavier died at an area hospital, according to deputies. His cause of death was blunt force trauma.
FULL STORY: Orlando women accused of killing toddler will not be prosecuted by State Attorney Ayala - WKMG