Resentencing Trial Begins for Felon Who Kidnapped Girl, 5, and Left Her to Be Eaten Alive by Alligators in Fla. Everglades

A Florida man once sentenced to death for the kidnapping and killing of a 5-year-old girl—who prosecutors say was left in the Everglades and died after being attacked by alligators—is back in court for a new penalty-phase trial.

Quatisha “Candy” Maycock was asleep in her bed on Nov. 6, 1998, when Harrel Braddy allegedly entered the home, grabbed the child, and forced her into his car while she was still in her pajamas.

Court filings say that before taking Candy, Braddy—now 76—had violently assaulted Candy’s mother, Shandelle Maycock, who was 22 at the time. The brief alleges Braddy beat and choked Shandelle repeatedly, at times to the point of unconsciousness.

The filings state Shandelle was also forced into the car. As Braddy drove away from the apartment, she pulled Candy into the backseat and told her they would jump from the moving vehicle. Braddy allegedly warned her not to try—and when Shandelle opened the door, he sped up, throwing both mother and daughter onto the road.

According to the brief, Braddy then stopped, returned, and collected them—telling Shandelle he would take them home. Instead, he put Candy in the car and forced Shandelle into the trunk, where she remained for about 45 minutes as he drove.

When the car finally stopped and the trunk opened, the brief says Shandelle found herself on an isolated dirt road. Braddy allegedly pulled her out, beat her, and choked her until she lost consciousness again.

When she regained consciousness the next morning, Shandelle flagged down a passing car and reported what happened to police, but there was no sign of Candy.

Three days later, on Nov. 9, a fisherman in the Florida Everglades area known as “Alligator Alley” discovered the body of a young girl. The brief describes the child as missing an arm and marked by extensive bites from alligators and fish. The girl was later identified as Candy, and investigators concluded she had been thrown onto rocks near a canal and left there.

Braddy was convicted and sentenced to death in Miami-Dade County in 2007. But his death sentence was later reversed after a 2017 Supreme Court decision found Florida’s death-penalty sentencing scheme unconstitutional. Florida’s law has since been amended, and Braddy is among inmates who received new penalty-phase proceedings as a result.

This week, Braddy returned to court for resentencing and could again face a death sentence depending on the jury’s recommendation and the judge’s final decision. Under the amended law, at least eight of the 12 jurors must recommend death.

The resentencing trial began Tuesday, Jan. 20, with prosecutors describing the injuries suffered by the child, the Miami Herald reported. In opening statements, State Attorney Abbe Rifkin described bite marks and severe trauma, and told jurors Candy was “loving” and “sweet like candy.”

Shandelle Maycock was also in court and came face-to-face with Braddy.

Prosecutors argued Braddy did not expect Shandelle to survive and left Candy in the Everglades in an effort to prevent the child from identifying him. “Quatisha is dead because Harrel Braddy killed her,” Rifkin said, according to the report. “Shandelle Maycock is alive by the grace of God.”