Child Abuse Attorney: Questions Remain After Seminole Boy Found Dead in Hollywood Home

The Broward County Medical Examiner is examining the body of the 3-year-old boy who was the subject of an intensive manhunt before his body was found in his father’s Hollywood home this week. Once the medical examiner’s office has completed its investigation, Ahizya Osceola will be be buried at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian reservation in Clewiston.

But then, the investigation of how the boy died will commence, as will questions of whether his death could have been prevented. Read the story here.

The search for Ahizya included bloodhounds, volunteers, police and the Broward Sheriff’s Office and the Community Emergency Response Team. While it canvassed several miles surrounding the home, it wasn’t until later that police say Ahizya Osceola’s body was found in an “obscure” place in the family home along the 5400 block of Johnson Street in Hollywood. Ahizya’s mother called him, “He’s my heart, he’s my life.”

The family, who are part of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, had made pleas for the child’s safe return. “Please, please call the police department, so I can have my baby back,” said his mother at a news conference. Now, the family will bury young Ahizya on native lands near the Florida Everglades.

The community mourns the death of Ahizya Osceola and the loss of what his life could have been, and we will watch closely as the truth is revealed. As Hollywood Police Chief Frank Fernandez told the Sun-Sentinel, “Part of the investigation is, how did we find the child deceased? Why did he end up in the condition that he ended up in?”

Hopefully, a thorough investigation will reveal the truth.