A Marion County jury has found an Ocala mother guilty of aggravated manslaughter in connection with the 2019 death of her 2-month-old son, who died from methamphetamine toxicity.
Jurors delivered the guilty verdict against 43-year-old Melissa Waiman Schroer on Thursday, May 14, following a trial that featured expert testimony and evidence detailing the conditions leading to the infant’s death. Schroer is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29, by Fifth Judicial Circuit Judge Barbara Kissner.
The case dates back to December 11, 2019, when law enforcement officers responded to The Villages Hospital regarding a deceased infant, identified as Wailan Roy Schroer.
Investigators learned the child had been found unresponsive at a home located off SE 36th Avenue in Ocala before being driven to the hospital.
Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the residence, where Melissa Schroer told them she had put the baby down to sleep while she took a nap. She claimed she was awakened by another child in the home who told her the baby was not breathing. Schroer then alerted her husband, Jeffery Schroer, who grabbed the infant and drove him to the hospital, where he was pronounced deceased upon arrival.
Major Crimes detectives interviewed the couple separately and noted varying accounts of the events leading up to the tragedy.
On February 5, 2020, the Medical Examiner’s Office concluded its autopsy, determining that the 2-month-old died from methamphetamine toxicity, with dehydration and inanition (exhaustion from a lack of nourishment) listed as contributing factors.
The death was ruled a homicide, establishing probable cause for the arrest of both parents. However, when local authorities attempted to apprehend the couple, they discovered the two had fled the state.
Following a prolonged search, both defendants were located living in Florence, Kentucky, where they were arrested on December 10, 2021, by the Boone County Sheriff’s Office. The couple was extradited back to Florida, over two years after the death of their son.
Jeffery Schroer faces the same charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child and is currently awaiting his own prosecution.