Mother charged with abuse in death of Deerfield Beach boy, 3

DEERFIELD BEACH -- A 3-year-old Deerfield Beach boy died of burns Sunday that police said were inflicted intentionally as punishment by his mother on Christmas Day.The boy's mother, Valerie Kennedy, 30 (Left) of Coral Springs, is charged with child abuse murder and his grandmother, Annie Williams, 51 (far left) of Deerfield Beach, has been charged with not seeking medical care for him. Both have been jailed. The child, Jaquez Mason, would have been 4 in February.

Here is what Broward Sheriff's Office said happened:BSO deputies were dispatched to a medical call in the 300 block of SW 11th Street in Deerfield Beach at 9:44 a.m. Sunday. Deputies arrived to find 3-year-old Jaquez Mason unresponsive. He had third degree burns over 50 percent of his body. Paramedics rushed Jaquez to Broward General Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead a half hour later.The investigation showed that Jaquez had been in the court-ordered custody of his grandmother, Annie Williams, due to prior child abuse committed by his mother, Valerie Kennedy, 30. Despite the custody order, Williams allowed Jaquez to spend Christmas Day with his mother and let Kennedy take the boy to her home in Coral Springs.Police say that during the holiday, Kennedy held her son in a tub of scalding water as a form of punishment. That evening, Kennedy told Williams that Jaquez got burned and turned him over to her. Williams took her grandson back to her Deerfield Beach home. For a week, she applied powder and ointment to his severe burns but did not seek professional medical care.Both women gave statements to BSO detectives. Both were booked at BSO's main jail. Williams is charged with manslaughter and is being held on $10,000 bond. Kennedy is being held without bond, charged with felony murder by child abuse.A man who answered the phone at the residence late Sunday refused to talk about the child or what happened."I can't answer that. You're going to have to talk to her," the man said, referring to his wife. He said his wife, Annie, was not there and then hung up when asked what happened to the boy.