A Florida jury has sentenced 76-year-old Harrel Braddy to life in prison, sparing him the death penalty in the killing of 5-year-old Quatisha “Candy” Maycock.
Prosecutors said the child was taken from her bed in November 1998 after Braddy—who knew her mother, Shandelle Maycock, through church—became angry when she rejected his advances.
Authorities alleged that Braddy forced Shandelle and her daughter into a vehicle and drove off, at one point placing Shandelle in the trunk. Prosecutors said he later pulled her out, assaulted her, and left her unconscious in an isolated area, according to reporting by the Miami Herald last month.
Two days after the abduction, on Nov. 9, 1998, Quatisha’s body was found in the Florida Everglades area known as Alligator Alley, the reports said.
On Friday, Jan. 30, jurors opted for a life sentence instead of death, according to NBC Miami and the Tampa Bay Times.
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Braddy was convicted in 2007 of murdering Quatisha and kidnapping Shandelle, according to Florida Supreme Court records. He initially received the death penalty after an 11–1 jury vote, but that sentence was overturned in 2017 under a rule requiring a unanimous jury decision before imposing death. The law was later amended, sending the case back to court for a new sentencing decision.
During the resentencing trial in January, Shandelle testified about the night of the abduction, the Miami Herald reported, adding that Braddy glared at her while she spoke. A former medical examiner also testified that brain scans showed injuries described as consistent with an alligator bite, according to NBC Miami.
Defense attorneys argued that Braddy had once been a devoted father and church leader and cited personal losses in his family, NBC Miami reported.
