A Florida couple was arrested this week for the starvation death of their 12-year-old son, whom they taunted and mocked for wanting water and wearing a diaper.
Qwentosha Massaquoi, 46, and Louis Massaquoi, 47, were arrested Wednesday on charges of aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse over the January death of their son.
The father called 911 on Jan. 27 to report that “his son was weak and possibly passed away.”
The boy died at 7:57 a.m. despite first responders’ efforts to save his life. The parents claimed the victim had been sick for days, adding that they did not seek medical help because it was “against their religious beliefs.”
The boy was reportedly “severely dehydrated, malnourished, and extremely emaciated,” and an autopsy confirmed that he had “obvious signs of malnourishment and was emaciated with all bones visible.”
Disturbing videos from the parents’ cellphones allegedly showed them mocking the boy for wearing a diaper and “denying the decedent basic nourishment, such as water, when he asked for it.”
“Videos were found of Louis Sr. taunting and making fun of the decedent by saying ‘Oh, your thirsty, oh you want water, you always want water,’ another where Louis Sr. makes fun of the decedent for wearing diaper, another where Louis Sr. takes bottle water from the decedent and says he can’t have it and you can hear the decedent asking for the water,” the affidavit added.
Investigators said both parents were present in the videos, “demonstrating that both parents were maliciously torturing, punishing, and mistreating the decedent.”
