A Florida stepmother is due to appear in court this week on charges stemming from the discovery of an unresponsive small boy coated in muck and unclothed.
In Osceola County, Florida, the Sheriff’s Office responded to a distress call for a drowning on Oct11, 2024, and immediately rushed the child to HCA Florida Osceola East Emergency.
When authorities investigated the drowning site, they discovered an odor similar to feces and urine. A green boogie board floated in the middle of the drainage ditch in the area where the victim was recovered.
Cheyenne Star Fite, 25, was taken into custody in connection to the death of her 5-year-old stepson. The investigation uncovered serious inconsistencies.
Fite told detectives that three children, another a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old, were playing outside in her vision while she folded laundry. The little girl screamed that her brother was underwater. Fite said she initially dismissed those screams and continued her chores.
The Kissimmee property was filled with puddles created by the rains from Hurricane Helene. Earlier in the day, a family friend excavated a big hole to drain the water using a homemade drain.
The boy’s father was at work at the time and was unaware of the hole being excavated on his property. It was approximately 15 feet by 10 feet and around 7 feet deep. The man-made hole was near to a pigpen.
After some time, Fite found her stepson submerged in the muddy water filled with waste runoff from the pigpen. She acknowledged that he did not know how to swim.
Fite claimed she was only a few feet away from the children while folding laundry, which was a huge discrepancy. Authorities said the distance was the length of a football field, and her line of sight was readily obstructed.
A major inconsistency was Fite’s claim that she was a few feet away from the children when folding laundry. Police discovered the youngster unclothed after Fite forced him to play outside naked as punishment. Apparently, the 5-year-old injured a chicken earlier in the day.
According to court documents, the death was caused by drowning. The lungs of Riley Scot Hoge back were found to be lined with brown and green dirt.
Cheyenne Star Fite is now being held in the Osceola County Jail without bond on a single charge of aggravated manslaughter by child abuse.