A Clarksville mother has been found guilty of reckless homicide and aggravated child neglect in the death of her disabled son, who died from malnutrition. Cheyenne Dawn Maddox faced charges following the discovery of her son, Kadaris, who weighed just 35 pounds at the time of his death in July 2022. According to Clarksville Now, the jury delivered the verdict yesterday, convicting Maddox of the reduced charge after she had been initially charged with first-degree murder.
The case, which had gripped the local community, raised questions about the responsibilities and challenges that come with caring for a special needs child. Maddox, who had bonded out of jail twice since her arrest, insisted on her innocence throughout the trial. According to a WKRN report, she previously stated, “The accusations are false. I love my son very much, and I didn’t hurt him. It’s not like I just woke up one day and decided to give up on my son.” Despite such proclamations, the evidence presented was compelling enough to convince the jury of her negligent actions beyond a reasonable doubt.
An autopsy conducted by Davidson County and Metro Nashville Chief Medical Examiner Feng Li found that the boy’s organs had started to shrink due to a stark lack of nutrition, and his death was ruled a homicide. The case’s tragic details include testimony from various healthcare and social workers. Myesha Mays, a former home health nurse who was closely involved with Kadaris, provided damning testimony about Maddox’s attitude toward her son. “She would always say, ‘Oh, I wish I could leave him at the hospital. Oh, I wish he was dead,'” Mays recounted in a statement obtained by WKRN…