A couple from Winter Haven is facing serious charges, including first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and other related crimes in connection with the alleged mistreatment and drowning of a 6-year-old boy under their care.
The incident unfolded on April 22, 2023, when paramedics and deputies responded to a call at the residence of Tre Seymore, 27, and Alize Seymore, 25. Upon arrival, the couple informed them that they had discovered the child in the water, face down.
According to the Seymores, they had sent the child to take a bath as a form of punishment for a toileting accident. They stated that they hadn’t checked on him for 20 minutes.
When they finally managed to open the locked door, they found the child face down in the water.
Upon further investigation inside the home, detectives learned that two other children, aged 7 and 10, also lived there. These children revealed that they were coerced and rewarded for mistreating the 6-year-old.
One of the children disclosed to detectives that he witnessed Tre holding the victim’s head under water, pulling him out, and administering CPR.
He also mentioned that Alize threatened to harm him if he told the truth about what Tre did to the victim.
As the investigators continued their examination of the residence, they discovered that the children’s bedrooms were in extremely poor condition.
In addition, they found a dog cage in the garage that was used as a form of punishment for the victim.
Furthermore, signs of previous abuse were evident, and the victim had visible wounds on the day he passed away, as reported by the detectives.
Alize was quoted as saying, “I wanna put him for adoption. (sic)” in a text message sent the day before the child’s death that was discovered during the examination of the circumstances surrounding the child’s death.
The boy didn’t wake up after he was discovered and passed away on April 24.
