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Talia M. Nelson (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
A 43-year-old woman in Florida is accused of knowingly torturing, starving, and neglecting her 14-year-old son, who weighed only 33 pounds when he was killed. Talia M. Nelson was taken into custody on Friday and charged with one count each of first-degree felony murder, aggravated manslaughter of a child, and aggravated child abuse in the death of Zayke Smith-Nelson, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
The average weight for a 14-year-old boy is between 110 and 120 pounds, per the Center for Disease Control.
Officers with the Daytona Beach Police Department at about 8:02 p.m. on Jan. 1 responded to Nelson’s home on Carolina Lake Drive regarding a report of an unconscious juvenile, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Upon arriving at the home, first responders made contact with Nelson, who claimed that she was cooking dinner for son when she saw that he had fallen to the floor unconscious.
Officers at the scene reportedly noted that the child “appeared to be extremely malnourished, weighing only 33 pounds” and had what appeared to be bedsores running up the side of his body. Nelson explained the boy’s emaciated appearance by telling police that Zayke was bulimic, lactose intolerant, and lived with a rare bone disease. However, Nelson could not identify the names of any doctors who had diagnosed her son with those ailments.
A search of the home reportedly revealed one of three bedrooms contained no furniture, only soiled clothing and what smelled like “stale urine,” police said. In the main bedroom, officers found laptops issued for the purpose of home-schooling that were still in the boxes and appeared to have never been opened.
An autopsy determined that Zayke was “severely malnourished” to the point that he had been losing bone density, per the report. The boy also had scars on his legs and torso that the medical examiner said was consistent with being struck by a long, flexible object. Bedsores reportedly covered the boy’s body, indicating that he likely couldn’t move much on his own and would not have been able to caused the marks on his own.
It was ultimately determined tat his manner of death was a homicide and the cause of death was abuse and neglect, Daytona Beach NBC affiliate WESH reported.
“At 33 pounds, the kid probably couldn’t even walk,” Jimmie Flynt of the Daytona Beach Police Department told the station.
In an interview with police, Nelson reportedly claimed that her son would make himself vomit, so she gave him protein shakes in the hope he would start gaining weight. She also allegedly conceded that she had “dropped the ball” by failing to seek medical attention for the starving boy, particularly because he had been unable to walk on his own for several weeks. However, Nelson did note that to get around, the 14-year-old would “scoot on his butt,” per the report.
Nelson reportedly told police that she did not neglect her son.
Medical records subpoenaed by authorities showed that Zayke had not seen a doctor since he was 10 years old. However, at that time, the boy was reportedly healthy, with doctors indicating that he had good vitals, was well-nourished, and showed no signs of concern regarding his growth or development.
“This is a well-nourished, well-developed patient, in no apparent distress,” the doctor who examined Zayke in 2010 reportedly wrote in the boy’s medical records.
Nelson is currently being held in the Volusia County Jail without bond. Court records show that she is scheduled to appear in court for her arraignment on March 5.
