Nationwide — Harrel Braddy, a 76-year-old man from Florida who killed 5-year-old Quatisha “Candy” Maycock and left her body for alligators, was spared the death penalty on Friday. A jury instead sentenced him to life in prison for the 1998 murder and kidnapping of her mother.
Braddy, who was then 48 years old, abducted Quatisha from her bed in November 1998 after her mother, Shandelle Maycock, rejected his advances. He had known the family through their church. Shandelle, then 22, was also kidnapped and at one point forced into the trunk of his car.
During the drive, Braddy stopped, pulled Shandelle from the trunk, and beat and choked her until she lost consciousness. He left her in a remote area while keeping Quatisha with him, prosecutors said.
Two days later, Quatisha’s body was discovered in Florida’s Everglades, in an area called “Alligator Alley.” She had been bitten by alligators and was missing an arm. The gruesome finding shocked the community and made national headlines.
According to People, Braddy was first convicted in 2007 of murder and kidnapping. He was sentenced to death after an 11-1 jury vote, but the sentence was overturned in 2017 because Florida law requires a unanimous jury for the death penalty. Changes to the law led to a re-sentencing trial earlier this year.
During the recent trial, Shandelle recounted the terrifying night of the abduction while Braddy watched her testify. A former medical examiner told the jury that Quatisha’s skull had puncture wounds consistent with an alligator bite.
Braddy’s defense focused on his life as a father and church leader, though it did not explain the crime. The jury ultimately sentenced him to life in prison, closing the legal chapter of this decades-old tragedy.