Tracey Nix booking photo (via Hardee County Sheriff’s Office); Nix in court, with daughter Kaila Schock-Nix and husband Drew Schock looking on (via YouTube/WTVT Fox13 Tampa Bay)
A woman whose two grandchildren died while in her care will be allowed to seek inpatient care while awaiting trial for aggravated manslaughter.
Tracey Nix, 65, was babysitting her granddaughter, 7-month-old Uriel, while Nix’s daughter Kaila Nix-Schock, went to an appointment at a hair salon on Nov. 1, 2022. After bringing the baby to lunch with some of her friends, Nix left the child in the car for hours as temperatures in Central Florida soared to 90 degrees. It was the second time in less than a year that a grandchild had died in her care; in December 2021, Kaila Nix-Schock’s son, 16-month-old Ezra, drowned after wandering into a pond near Nix’s home after the grandmother had fallen asleep.
She now faces charges of aggravated manslaughter and leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle causing great harm. She was not charged in Ezra’s death.
Kaila Nix-Schock and her husband, Drew Schock, have said they believe Nix needs to be locked up.
“If I’m objective — she needs to go to prison,” Schock told local ABC affiliate WFTS earlier this month. “As her daughter, it kills me to say it. As their mother, I demand it. I will fight for them.”
At Thursday’s hearing, Nix’s defense attorney Drew Davis said that his client is not talking to anyone about the situation, which affects his ability to try the case, Tampa Bay Fox affiliate WTVT reported.
“She’s having a hard time discussing the incident with her husband, with any other people, and that includes her attorneys,” Davis told Hardee County Judge Reinaldo Ojeda at Thursday’s hearing. “As we all very know, that could very well prove a competency issue down the line, judge. One of the main reasons why we are filing this motion is to nip that in the bud early.”
Nix’s husband, Nun Ney Nix, pleaded with Hardee County Judge Reinaldo Ojeda on behalf of his wife, saying that she needs treatment.
“I would just like to see her get help,” he said. “I would like to see her come back to whatever normal will be.”
He said his wife is a “very smart and intelligent person,” but something is clearly off.
“She has a psychology degree, but the fact that she’s not talking tells me she needs someone that can help her work through these issues,” Nun Ney Nix said.
Prosector Jaenea Gorman had raised concerns over the fact that the facility is not locked, WTVT reported, noting that Nix has made “statements that she wanted to flee her situation.”
Ojeda granted the motion and ordered that officials call Nix at the facility every day at the same time to ensure she is there.
Kaila Nix-Schock and Drew Schock attended the hearing, the anguish clearly written on their faces. Nix and Nix-Schock were seen embracing after the hearing.
“I miss you so much,” one of them reportedly said during the embrace, according to WTVT.
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