A chilling case from 1998 is back in the spotlight as Harrel Braddy, 76, faces the death penalty once more.
Braddy, who kidnapped a five-year-old girl and attacked her mother, had already been sentenced to death nearly two decades ago, but recent changes in Florida law have reopened his case.
How the Tragedy Began
Braddy met Shandelle Maycock at church and, according to prosecutors, began pursuing her romantically.
After repeated rejections, he targeted Shandelle and her daughter Quatisha.
On November 7, 1998, he kidnapped them both.
Shandelle was beaten, choked, and locked in the trunk of a car before being left for dead along a remote stretch of road near Palm Beach.
Quatisha was left alive near a notorious section of the Everglades called Alligator Alley — an area Braddy allegedly believed would hide his crime.
The Child’s Death
Quatisha’s body was discovered two days later in a canal by fishermen.
The autopsy revealed a horrifying scene: her left arm had been bitten off by an alligator after her death, and she also suffered alligator bites to her head and chest while likely unconscious.
Investigators concluded that she had blunt force trauma to the left side of her head, likely from being struck during the kidnapping, and also suffered “brush burns” consistent with sliding along a road.
Evidence suggested fish had fed on her lips postmortem.
Then-Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Leonard E.
Glick described the crime in his sentencing, saying, “Adults are supposed to protect children from monsters.
They are not supposed to be the monsters themselves.”
Braddy’s Confession
During the investigation, Braddy admitted to leaving Quatisha near a canal because he feared she would reveal what he had done to her mother.
He even acknowledged that he “knew” she would likely die.
Shandelle survived the attack, but Quatisha did not.
The Legal Twist That Brings Braddy Back
Braddy was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 2007.
However, Florida’s death penalty laws have shifted over the years, opening the door for him to be resentenced.
In 2016, the US Supreme Court ruled that Florida’s previous system, which allowed judges rather than juries to decide death sentences, violated the Sixth Amendment.
Lawmakers revised the statute, requiring 10 out of 12 jurors to recommend death, but the Florida Supreme Court later insisted that death sentences must be unanimous.
This back-and-forth has brought Braddy back to court.
Jury selection for his resentencing began Monday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.
What This Case Represents
The Braddy case is a grim reminder of how legal changes, even decades later, can reopen the door to justice.
It also reflects the deep, lasting trauma of violent crime on victims, families, and communities.
As the court proceedings continue, all eyes remain on Miami-Dade, where jurors will once again weigh the most serious possible sentence for a crime that shocked Florida more than 25 years ago.
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