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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nTracey Nix, 67, of Hardee County, left her 7-month-old granddaughter, Uriel Schock, in a hot car, where the baby died. This was the second grandchild to die under Tracey Nix’s care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uriel’s 16-month-old brother Ezra also died while he was at his grandmother Tracey’s home. He drowned in a nearby pond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On January 15, Tracey, a former teacher and principal, was found not guilty of aggravated manslaughter but was found guilty of leaving a child unattended in a vehicle for more than 15 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court on April 3, Uriel’s father, Drew Schock, talked about how he has had to relieve the moment every single day. \u201cMy wife and I are the ones who are going to have to live with this,” he said. \u201cWe\u2019re here for justice. That\u2019s what we\u2019re here for.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the trial was held in Polk County to seat an impartial jury, the sentencing is being held in Hardee County, where the case originated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“As parents, what would you guys do in my position? As a parent? If this happened, not once but twice. All we can do as parents is try to see it through,” Drew said. “That\u2019s all we can do is make sure this doesn\u2019t happen again. Because nobody thought it would happen a second time.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kaila Nix Schock, Uriel’s mother, spoke after. \u201cI wanted our family, I wanted to save something,\u201d Kaila said, turning toward her mother, Tracey, in court, both crying. \u201cI still love you. I hate this. I hate that I have to choose. But you know I have to. It doesn\u2019t change my heart.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kaila was emotional as she spoke. She said that to survive the court process, she had to find her strength and her voice. \u201cI just wanted this to stop. I just wanted this to end. But I had to seek justice for my daughter and my son because I was already forced to choose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tracey’s husband and Kaila’s father, Ney Nix, said social media and the news were “brutal.” Ney said they didn’t have all of the information or had enough to make it sensational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Tracey’s attorney, she was taking medication during the time of Uriel’s death. At the time, Ney said he didn’t realize anything was off. Now, looking back, he said there were changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A psychiatrist spoke after, saying he found Tracey to be “one of the most genuine people I\u2019ve ever interviewed\u2026 honest, remorseful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the hearing, the psychiatrist said Tracey was prescribed a muscle relaxer for fibromyalgia, which has a side effect impacting attention, focus and concentration. She had been taking it for years, along with twice the dosage of Ambien she should have been on. Ambien can cause issues with clarity the following day after taking it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that Tracey also has sleep apnea. Lorazepam, another medication she took, can cause sedation as well as difficulties with attention and concentration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each of the medications individually can cause negative effects on elderly people, the psychiatrist said, and he believes they contributed to the tragedy. He said he doesn’t think society needs to be protected from her, given that she has no prior criminal record and she’s elderly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the state prosecutor asked the psychiatrist if he could point to anything on the day Uriel was left in the hot car that spoke to the side effects of the medication she was on. The psychiatrist, however, said it’s not all or nothing in terms of being affected cognitively by medications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tracey, who did not speak during her trial, spoke next and addressed Kaila directly. She said she wanted her daughter to know how much she was wanted and how much she is loved. \u201cWas I a perfect mom? No. But I love you,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said she could not imagine how she would have acted if Kaila had been taken from her, bringing Kaila to tears. “I love my grandchildren. And I would have done anything for them,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tracey said she agreed to take Uriel when Kayla had a hair appointment on the day Uriel died. The car seat was behind the driver’s seat, and after lunch at Beef O’Brady’s, she gave Uriel her bottle, and she fell asleep in the backseat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, she said, she remembers looking in the rearview mirror and not seeing anything, so she went into the house. Once she was inside, there was nothing to remind her she was in the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later, Tracey asked Ney when Kaila came by for Uriel. She then opened the car door and realized Uriel was in there all along. She knew Uriel had passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tracey said she then ran to the barn to look for something to hurt herself with. “I wanted to be gone,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said she then fell down and asked God to take her because she didn’t want to face Kaila and Drew. \u201cI\u2019m broken about what happened,” Tracey said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to live at that moment. But I wasn\u2019t trying to hide anything.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tracey then addressed her son-in-law, Drew, saying that whenever he is ready to talk, she will answer anything he wants to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think that you have the impression that I have not grieved and that I have not cared about your children,\u201d Tracey said to Kaila and Drew. \u201cAnd that cannot be farther from the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhatever your decision is, I want you to know that I\u2019m already in prison. No one can do more for themselves than I have done to myself,” Tracey told the judge. “I wake up every day, and I think about it. I am in my own prison, and it will last all of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Judge Rafool responded to her comments as he spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I see her more concerned with her community image than the death of a child,\u201d Judge Rafool said, having watched video of her questioned by the sheriff\u2019s office after this happened. Uriel\u2019s death is not an isolated incident, the judge said. This is the second death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I do not believe she\u2019s shown remorse, I believe she\u2019s showing sorrow,” he said. \u201cSorrow is not the same as remorse.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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