FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –June 23, 2015

Brevard Grand Jury Issues Murder Indictment

In Cocoa Toddler’s Death

            The Brevard County Grand Jury charged Nathaniel Aries Dotson, 20, Cocoa with first-degree felony murder and aggravated child abuse today (June 23, 2015) in connection with the May 19^thdeath of Zamir Kendrick who was 15-months old when he died.

            Dotson reported the child was not breathing on May 19. He was babysitting Zamir at the home he shared with the child’s mother while she was at work. The baby was determined to be brain dead on May 20 at Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando, and Dotson was arrested by Cocoa Police on May 22.

            The Grand Jury heard from two witnesses, an Associate Brevard County Medical Examiner and a Cocoa Police Detective, before deliberating and returning the charges, said Assistant State Attorney Julia Lynch.  Dotson is scheduled to make a first appearance on the charges tomorrow (Wednesday) at the Brevard County jail where he has been held since his arrest.