At a Glance
- A Florida man who left a 5-year-old girl to be eaten alive by alligators faces resentencing after his 2007 death penalty was overturned
- Harrel Braddy, 76, kidnapped Quatisha “Candy” Maycock and her mother, then threw the child into the Everglades
- Why it matters: The new trial will decide if Braddy returns to death row under revised state law
A Florida man convicted of murdering a 5-year-old girl by abandoning her in the Everglades to be eaten by alligators is back in court for resentencing after his 2007 death penalty was reversed.
The Kidnapping
On November 6, 1998, Quatisha “Candy” Maycock was sleeping in her bed when Harrel Braddy, then 50, entered and abducted her. The child was forced into his car while still wearing her pajamas.
Before taking the girl, Braddy had been severely beating her mother, Shandelle Maycock, 22. Court documents state he choked her to unconsciousness multiple times.
Shandelle was also forced into the vehicle. During the drive, she pulled Candy into the backseat and told her daughter they would jump from the moving car.
Braddy had been released from prison just one year earlier after serving 12 years of a 30-year sentence for attempted murder, robbery, kidnapping and burglary, according to Florida Department of Corrections records.
The Attack
Shandelle had met Braddy and his wife through a church group, and he had been helping the single mother. During the kidnapping, Braddy instructed her not to exit the vehicle.
When she opened the car door, Braddy accelerated, throwing both mother and daughter from the vehicle. After stopping, he returned and claimed he would drive them home.
Instead, Braddy placed Candy inside the car but locked Shandelle in the trunk for 45 minutes. When he finally opened it on an isolated dirt road, he beat her and choked her unconscious again, stating he should kill her.
Shandelle survived and awoke the next morning, flagging down a passing car to report the kidnapping to police. Her daughter was nowhere to be found.
The Discovery
On November 9, 1998, a fisherman discovered a young girl’s body in the Florida Everglades section known as “Alligator Alley.” The child was missing an arm and covered in bite marks from alligators and fish.
The victim was identified as Candy. Prosecutors stated Braddy had thrown her onto rocks in a nearby canal, leaving her to be eaten alive.
Legal Proceedings
Braddy was convicted and sentenced to death by a Miami-Dade County jury in 2007. However, the Florida Supreme Court reversed his sentence in 2017 after ruling the state’s death penalty law unconstitutional.
The law has since been amended, granting Braddy and other death row inmates new penalty phase trials. His resentencing trial began January 20 with jury selection starting earlier in the month.
Prosecution’s Case
During opening statements, State Attorney Abbe Rifkin detailed Candy’s horrific injuries for the jury.
“Deep into her skull, teeth marks, where an alligator tried to bite her head,” Rifkin stated.
He described the victim: “She was 5 years old. She was smart. She was loving. She was sweet like candy.”
Prosecutors argued Braddy left the child to die because he feared she could identify him. They noted he did not expect Shandelle to survive the attack.
“Quatisha is dead because Harrel Braddy killed her,” Rifkin told jurors. “Shandelle Maycock is alive by the grace of God.”
Current Trial
The resentencing requires at least eight of 12 jurors to recommend death under Florida’s revised death penalty law. The presiding judge will make the final decision at trial’s end.
Shandelle attended court, facing her daughter’s killer for the first time in years. The proceedings will determine whether Braddy, now 76, returns to death row.
Key Takeaways
- Harrel Braddy’s 2007 death sentence was overturned due to unconstitutional Florida death penalty law
- New trial will decide if he receives death penalty again for 1998 murder of 5-year-old Quatisha Maycock
- Child was left in Everglades wearing only pajamas, killed by alligators after kidnapping
- Mother Shandelle survived brutal attack and testified against him
