Anthony Rouse: Florida 6-year-old drowned by mother and stepfather who kept him in dog cage as punishment
EAGLE LAKE, FLORIDA: A 6-year-old Florida boy was tragically drowned to death by his stepfather and biological mother, authorities have said.
Anthony Rouse was reportedly suffocated in a bathtub weeks after he was locked away in a dog cage as punishment for “stealing” a “handful of noodles.” His mother allegedly texted “I wanna put him for adoption" the day before his death.
According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Alize Seymore aka Alize Blancita Rivera, 25, and Tre Shaquile Seymore, 27, tried and failed to pass off the child's death as a suicide. The evil duo allegedly created a reward system where other boys were encouraged to join in on physical abuse of Anthony in reward of candy or other food items.
“Jail is too good for them. Hell is too good for them,” Sheriff Judd told WTSP. “But that’s the only option we have.”
What charges do Anthony Rouse's killers face?
As per jail records, the defendants remain in the custody of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office without bonds and now they each face multi-count indictments. They are charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child, two felony child abuse offenses, and causing a minor to become delinquent or dependent.
The mother is slapped with an additional charge of tampering with a witness in a capital felony case.
Alize allegedly “did knowingly use intimidation or physical force, or knowingly did threaten or attempt to threaten, or did offer pecuniary benefit or gain” to an individual for the purpose of causing that person to “withhold testimony or a record, document or other object from an official investigation” or to “alter, destroy, mutilate or conceal an object” or otherwise hindering or preventing that witness’ testimony on April 22 or 23.
What did Anthony Rouse's father and foster mother say?
According to Anthony's father and foster mother he was a “really happy baby” who liked to go swimming and fishing. “He really liked the water, he liked to swim,” says Kasee Metzger, her voice cracking. “We took him to my mom’s house for his second birthday party because she has a pool and he really liked to swim and be around the water.”
Andre Rouse, Anthony’s father, who spent most of the time with his now-dead son for the last four years, said that he was "an energetic person." Just like his father, Andre too loved to go fishing. The young boy even accompanied him on a work trip on a boat at the age of 1. “He’s caught a 25 pound stingray,” Andre recalled.
Anthony Rouse's last request to his father before death
The devastated father remembered his last conversation with his son word by word, four months after Anthony’s death. His last request was a birthday gift from his dad. “‘Daddy my birthday is coming up,’ and he told me he wanted a Nintendo Switch, and a lot of Paw Patrol games,” Andre recalled.
However, Andre remembered the most painful part of the conversation when he had to tell his son goodbye for he had to leave for a fishing trip which sometimes takes him offshore for two to three weeks. The child pleaded him not to go when Andre told Anthony he needed to hang up. According to the father, Anthony said, “C’mon Daddy, don’t do me like that. Let’s go fishing!”
And by the time he returned from his fishing trip, Anthony was dead. “Nobody is prepared to lose a child like how I lost him,” the father added. Andre is now without a job and his son's death has seriously affected his mental health. He recently accidentally cut his finger because he couldn’t “stop thinking about this situation," he said.