The Heartbreaking Final Words of a Five-Year-Old Girl Thrown to Alligators
A terrified five-year-old girl's final, heartbreaking words have been revealed in a harrowing cold case from 1998, where she was thrown into the Florida Everglades to be eaten by alligators. The details emerged as her killer, Harrel Braddy, faces resentencing and could once again receive the death penalty for this brutal crime.
A Fateful Friendship and a Violent Past
Quatisha 'Candy' Maycock and her mother, Shandelle Maycock, were abducted by Harrel Braddy in 1998. Shandelle was a single mother who had become estranged from her family after falling pregnant at just 16 years old. When she was 22, she befriended Braddy's wife at a local church, which led to Braddy offering her rides to work and financial assistance.
However, Shandelle was completely unaware of Braddy's violent and extensive criminal history. This lack of knowledge would prove tragically consequential.
The Night of the Abduction and a Mother's Plea
The horrific events unfolded one evening after Braddy and his wife picked up Candy. They brought the mother and daughter back to Shandelle's apartment, where Braddy overstayed his welcome. When Shandelle asked him to leave, citing that she had company coming over, Braddy became enraged.
He charged at Shandelle, slamming her into the floor and beginning to choke her. He then forcibly picked up both Shandelle and Candy, dragging them to his car. They attempted to escape, but Braddy fought back, ultimately shoving Shandelle into the trunk of the vehicle.
The last thing Shandelle remembered her young daughter saying was a desperate cry: 'No, mommy, no.'
A Journey to the Everglades and a Mother's Survival
Braddy eventually stopped the car and pulled Shandelle from the trunk. She begged him, 'Why are you doing this to me? What did I do?' She recalls him replying, 'Because you used me. I should kill you.' He then choked her until she lost consciousness, leaving her stranded on the roadside, where she remained until morning.
State Prosecutor Abbe Rifkin stated that Braddy believed he had killed Shandelle. He then took little Candy to the Florida Everglades, a location where he had previously fed alligators.
Jurors at the trial were shown a photograph of Candy wearing her Polly Pocket pajamas, missing an arm. She also had bite marks on her head and stomach that were forensically consistent with an alligator attack.
'He knew he couldn't get caught. Not again,' Rifkin said in court. 'He silenced her by killing her.'
A Miraculous Survival and a Long Legal Battle
The next morning, Shandelle—whose vision was severely impaired due to popped blood vessels in her eyes from the choking—managed to flag down two tourists and get help. Her survival was nothing short of miraculous.
Harrel Braddy had been released from custody just 18 months prior to this attack, while serving a 30-year felony sentence. He was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2007 and was originally sentenced to death.
However, his death sentence was reversed in 2017 after the US Supreme Court ruled Florida's death penalty law unconstitutional. In 2023, the state updated its legislation, now allowing the death penalty if a jury votes 8-4 in favour, though a judge retains the discretion to not impose it.
Braddy is now being resentenced and once again faces the possibility of execution for the murder of Quatisha 'Candy' Maycock, a case that continues to haunt the Florida legal system and the memory of a mother who heard her daughter's final, desperate words.
