Florida dad sentenced to life in prison for killing son for drinking out of toilet: court records
The Brief
Larry Rhodes has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his 6-year-old son.
A grand jury indicted him on Wednesday on charges including first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Larry Rhodes Jr., the Florida man accused of killing his 6-year-old son for drinking out of a toilet, will spend the rest of his life in prison, according to court records.
An Osceola County grand jury formally indicted the 25-year-old on Wednesday for first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated child abuse and four counts of child abuse, in the murder of his son and the alleged felony abuse of his other children.
The backstory
According to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, on July 5, 2022, deputies responded to the Knights Inn on West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway for a reported drowning after the child's mother, Bianca Blaise, then 25, called 911 saying her son was found with his head in the toilet, and at some point, became unconscious.
When deputies arrived at the motel room where the family lived, they found the child in the arms of his father, Larry Rhodes Jr., Blaise and five other children ranging in age from 5 years old to 10 months old.
Blaise initially told investigators she walked into the bathroom and found the child with his head in the toilet and told her child to go to a corner near the hotel room's front door. Shortly after, she said she heard Rhodes yell and heard three "claps," an arrest report stated. When she left the bathroom, she reportedly found the child lying on the floor with Rhodes standing nearby.
However, authorities said the parents became angry with the boy because he was drinking from the toilet and began to beat him.
The mother reportedly beat him first, and then the father repeatedly punched him multiple times to the head and stomach area.
The sheriff said the boy was rushed to a hospital with a brain bleed and a lacerated liver and died a few days later. The medical examiner confirmed the child died from blunt force trauma.
According to court records, Blaise accepted a plea deal in October 2024, pleading guilty to manslaughter and child neglect. She now faces a potential sentence of up to 40 years in prison.
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The Source
This story was written based on information shared on the Osceola County clerk of courts.
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