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Grandmother sentenced for baby's hot car death
FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon reports on a judge sentencing Tracey Nix to five years in prison nearly two-and-a-half years after her infant granddaughter died in a hot car.
WAUCHULA, Fla. - A judge sentenced Tracey Nix to five years in prison after an emotional hearing on Thursday, nearly two-and-a-half years after her infant granddaughter died in a hot car in Hardee County.
Nix was convicted in January of leaving a child unattended in a vehicle, causing great bodily harm, but the jury found her not guilty of aggravated manslaughter.
Pictured: Tracey Nix in court during her trial in January 2025.
Case against Tracey Nix
The backstory:
Nix left 7-month-old Uriel Schock in the car after returning to her Hardee County home from lunch with friends on Nov. 1, 2022.
Temperatures reached the 90s that afternoon before the baby was removed from the car.
Photo of Uriel Schock. (Courtesy: Kaila Nix.)
At Nix's trial, which was held in Polk County, prosecutors called more than a dozen witnesses. They included Tracey's daughter, Kaila Nix-Schock, the mother of the baby who died.
Friends who met Tracey Nix for lunch that day also testified, saying they'd known her for decades and she was a loving grandmother. Nix declined to testify in her own defense.
Pictured: Tracey Nix in court during her trial in January 2025.
Jurors also heard the 911 call from another family member, and watched a Hardee County detective's bodycam video from the afternoon of Nov. 1, 2022.
Nix faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted of aggravated manslaughter, but the jury acquitted her of that charge while finding her guilty of leaving a child unattended in a vehicle, causing great bodily harm.
Two of Tracey Nix's grandchildren died in her care less than a year apart.
Dig deeper:
Uriel was the second grandchild to die while in Nix's care. In December 2021, 16-month-old Ezra died after he opened doors, went under a fence and wandered into a pond outside Nix's Wauchula home, according to deputies.
Charges in that case were eventually dropped, and the trial judge ruled it could not be mentioned to the jury in the hot car case.
Emotional sentencing hearing
What they're saying:
Baby Uriel’s father, Drew Schock, became emotional during Thursday’s sentencing hearing as he talked about the extra steps he and Kaila Nix-Schock had taken to protect Uriel after the death of Ezra.
"There are some things you don’t think about, and as parents we have to live with that for the rest of our lives," Schock said.
"She’s done this twice and the fact that we’re debating whether she deserves jail time is just insane to me," Schock said moments later.
Drew Schock speaks at the sentencing hearing for Tracey Nix on April 3, 2025.
Kaila Nix-Schock also showed strong emotion in the courtroom on Thursday, turning directly to her mother while talking about the trauma she continues to endure after the deaths of two of her children.
"I still love you. I hate this," Nix-Schock said through tears. "I hate that I have to choose, but you know I had to. But it doesn't change my heart."
Kaila Nix-Schock speaks at the sentencing hearing for Tracey Nix on April 3, 2025.
Tracey Nix also testified in her own defense during the hearing, speaking tearfully to Kaila at one point.
"I love you, and I've always loved you with all my heart," Nix said. "I tell you that because I can't imagine how I would have acted and reacted had you been taken from me."
Tracey Nix speaks during her sentencing hearing on April 3, 2025.
Moments later, Nix talked at length for the first time about the day during which Uriel was left in the car.
"I didn't realize that Uriel was in the car," Nix said. "I literally forgot for a long period of time."
"I'm broken about what happened," Nix continued. "I don't want to leave anyone with the thought that I'm making excuses, because I'm not."
Tracey Nix's husband, Nun Ney Nix, spoke on behalf of the defense as well.
"Tracey mourned in silence," he said, adding that his wife rarely went outside and "the days seemed to run together" in the aftermath of Uriel's death.
Nun Ney Nix speaks at the sentencing hearing for Tracey Nix on April 3, 2025.
Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Nix to five years in prison, while the defense argued for a lesser sentence.
The judge, however, said Nix showed no remorse for what happened, imposing the maximum five-year sentence.
"Uriel is not an isolated incident. I do not believe she is showing remorse; I believe she is showing sorrow," said Rafool.
Rafool also asked the Hardee County community to let Kaila and Drew Schock remain in peace.
"This community needs to move past this case and leave Drew and Kaila Schock alone. Let them and their two children live in peace. This family has lost two children, Ezra and Uriel Schock. The tragedy of this case is undeniable," said Rafool.
He continued on.
"I have made a final determination here. I am not putting people on probation to be walking around this community to rehash an issue or for something to come up. I have sentenced her to five years in prison. I want this community to move on," said Rafool.
What's next:
Nix will serve her five-year sentence with credit for time already served.
"Five years is really a drop in the bucket. We will spend the rest of our lives – our son will grow up without his brother and sister. Five years to me, is it justice? No, not really. But it’s what we could have gotten," said Drew Schock.
Drew and Kaila Schock told FOX 13 they will finally be able to begin their grieving process.
"I loved and adored my children. I also love and adore my family. I think this hearing really demonstrated the tortured nature of the entire event. The love for my family is real, but the love for my children supersedes everything," said Kaila Schock.
The Source: Information for this story came from FOX 13’s Kimberly Kuizon, a sentencing hearing on April 3, 2025 and previous FOX 13 News reports.
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