Three people face charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and aggravated child abuse after a 3-month-old died from dehydration and malnutrition in a Fort Pierce mobile home, the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office announced Monday. Nicole Maxwell, the infant's mother, her father Robert Maxwell, and his girlfriend Vikki Koon were arrested nearly a year after investigators responded to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in August 2025 when the child was brought in deceased.
The medical examiner determined the child died from dehydration and malnutrition and ruled the death a homicide. Court documents describe the infant's ribs as more prominent than its stomach. Detective Jennifer Diaz said the child lived primarily with Robert Maxwell and Koon while Nicole Maxwell lived at her boyfriend's home.
Koon told investigators she primarily fed the infant only twice a day and admitted that when she ran out of formula, she fed the child watered-down milk with bay cereal mixed in. The child's father lived in Virginia.
Investigators found the mobile home in Fort Pierce had windows boarded shut, exposed electrical wiring, and live and dead cockroaches throughout. Detective Diaz described the house as extremely hot with a bug infestation and unsafe for walking. A neighbor named Suzan said she witnessed the conditions firsthand and would often see the other children walking around the neighborhood asking for water.
Suzan said the children wore the same clothes every day and were not bathed. Nicole Maxwell's other children who were living inside the mobile home are now in foster care.
Detective Diaz, who has 20 years in law enforcement, called this one of the worst cases she has ever worked. The Department of Children and Families had been involved with the family before. Sheriff Richard Del Toro urged the public to report any signs of child abuse or neglect, stating that one phone call can be the difference between a child receiving help and a life being saved. The case required outside medical expertise and months of additional testing before charges could be filed.