A 43-year-old Ocala woman has been handed the maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for the 2019 death of her 2-month-old son, who died from methamphetamine toxicity and severe malnourishment.
On Monday, a Marion County judge sentenced Melissa Waiman Schroer to three decades behind bars for aggravated manslaughter of a child. The sentencing comes after local jurors found her guilty of the charge in May following a trial that detailed the conditions leading to the infant’s death.
“Here we have a case where one young child senselessly dies, and two other children are forever impacted by their sibling’s death,” said Chief Walter Forgie of the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office. “Given this and other contributing circumstances, our Assistant State Attorneys asked for the maximum sentence possible for Schroer and were successful in obtaining the just sentence.”
The fatal incident occurred on December 11, 2019. Law enforcement officers were dispatched to The Villages Hospital after the 2-month-old infant, identified as Wailan Roy Schroer, was pronounced deceased upon arrival.
Investigators determined that the child was initially found unresponsive at a residence located off SE 36th Avenue in Ocala. At the time, Melissa Schroer told Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies that 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.
Melissa Schroer’s husband, Jeffery Schroer, grabbed the infant and drove him to the hospital.
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 and determined the infant died from methamphetamine toxicity. Dehydration and inanition – exhaustion resulting from a lack of nourishment – were listed as contributing conditions.
The infant’s death was officially ruled a homicide.
After establishing probable cause for the arrest of both parents, authorities discovered the couple had fled the state. Following a prolonged search, both defendants were located living in Florence, Kentucky. They were apprehended by the Boone County Sheriff’s Office on December 10, 2021, and extradited back to Florida to face charges.
Melissa Schroer’s husband faces the same charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child and is currently awaiting his own prosecution.