A mother from Michigan has learned her fate for abandoning her 1-year-old son on Florida‘s Daytona Beach. The boy’s teenage brother reportedly called the cops on her on the day in question — claiming she was “possessed by demons.”
Shamika Mitchell, 38, was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for abandoning her son. In November 2024, she was found guilty of aggravated child abuse and unlawful child desertion.
According to Florida’s Seventh Judicial Circuit Judge Karen Foxman, Mitchell used marijuana, alcohol, and possibly meth while caring for the child, who was in the surf and could have drowned if not rescued, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
According to the newspaper, her public defender stated that the defendant had a difficult childhood and was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time of the incident.
The case came to light on November 8, 2023. Mitchell was captured on surveillance video walking onto Daytona Beach with her 1-year-old son shortly before midnight. She returned alone five minutes later.
Law&Crime previously reported that her teen son called 911.
“She sent my little brother somewhere,” the teen told police, according to local NBC affiliate WESH. “She spoke with his father. I keep telling her to show me proof, but she doesn’t. … So, like, I truly believe my mother is possessed by demons.”
“I’m telling her to give me proof because I know he’s been having these little episodes lately,” the teen explained to the dispatcher.
WESH says it’s unclear what caused the “episodes.”
According to police, a stranger found Mitchell’s son just in time.
“She told Daytona Beach Police that he was in the water on his hands and knees,” according to the incident report. “Hands buried in the sand up to his wrists and waves were crashing over his head.”
When first responders arrived, the boy was unresponsive and breathing shallowly, with an elevated pulse, according to authorities. He was rushed to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and later fully recovered.
After Mitchell’s arrest, Florida’s Department of Children and Families placed her five children, ages 1 to 17, in foster care, according to WJBK in December 2023. Their grandmother, Valerie Mitchell, told the outlet that she traveled to Florida to try to get them out, but was initially unsuccessful.
“I’ve called everyone, and I need some help,” Valerie Mitchell said. “My grandsons want to come home.”
On December 19, 2023, the children were sent home with a case manager and placed in Valerie Mitchell’s care. She claimed it was a Christmas she’d never forget.
“I am so happy, I just don’t know what to do,” Valerie Mitchell told the Detroit Free Press when her grandchildren arrived. “I’m just happy they’re home.”
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