Trigger Warning: This article contains disturbing details about an animal attack. Reader discretion is strongly advised.
A Miami jury is reportedly discussing whether to give the death penalty to a Florida man who kidnapped and left a 5-year-old for dead at the hands of alligators in 1998.
The convicted felon named Harrel Brady may be placed on death row after his original sentence was overturned in 2017.
According to the Miami Herald, the horrible crime unraveled on November 7, 1998, when Brady met 5-year-old Quatisha Maycock and her mother, Shandelle Maycock, at a church group.
After she had rejected his romantic advances, Brady resorted to extreme measures and committed a horrific crime.
🚨 PURE EVIL: 76-YEAR-OLD MONSTER HARREL BRADDY WHO KIDNAPPED INNOCENT 5-YEAR-OLD QUATISHA MAYCOCK AND DELIBERATELY FED HER TO ALLIGATORS IN THE EVERGLADES FACES DEATH PENALTY!
Back in 1998, after the little girl’s mother rejected his advances, this beast choked her unconscious… pic.twitter.com/Eg1Ps139B3
— Grifty (@TheGriftReport) January 9, 2026
Before kidnapping the child, Brady first choked her mother in a sugarcane field and trapped her in the back of his car trunk. He then abandoned the car at a US 27 highway near the Broward-Palm Beach county line.
However, the mom reportedly survived and immediately sought out help. However, by the time she came to her senses, Brady had taken off with her daughter.
In fear of getting caught, Brady decided to get rid of the little girl. So he dumped her body at Alligator Alley, which as the name suggests, was notorious for alligators within the water body. Those living close by and fishermen often warned people about the gators at the venue.
Shortly after she was left to her fate, fishermen fetched the child’s mutilated body littered with bite marks and discovered a bleeding severed arm. Forensic reports confirmed she was attacked by gators and was alive when she was being torn apart.
Court documents citing medical findings revealed her official cause of death to be blunt force trauma to her head when she was thrown from the car.
As noted by Judge Leonard E. Glick during Brady’s 2007 trial, the child truly died a horrible and painful death, alone in the swamp. Judge Glick said, “Adults are supposed to protect children from monsters; they are not supposed to be the monsters themselves…”
⚠️ WARNING: This post contains descriptions of child kidnapping, extreme violence, and animal attacks.
Harrel Braddy, 76, is back in a Florida courtroom facing the death penalty for the 1998 kidnapping and death of five-year-old Quatisha Maycock. Braddy was originally sentenced… pic.twitter.com/biwuI7ehde
— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) January 8, 2026
Back then, Brady was sentenced to death about 9 years after committing the inhumane crime. However, the verdict was later overturned after a new state law ruled death sentences unconstitutional unless supported by a unanimous jury verdict.
Years later, the legal drama surrounding Brady continues with the Miami Jury choosing whether or not to impose the death penalty and finally deliver justice to the child.
According to People, Brady currently stands guilty of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, attempted first-degree murder, and several other charges.
The case came to review once more after Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law in 2023 about the death penalty if the jury reached an 8-4 vote. With this new law, Miami jurors are now strongly pushing for Brady’s execution.
Brady’s possible final trial was scheduled for January 5, 2026. A verdict is set to be delivered sometime later this year. This isn’t Brady’s first rodeo when it comes to criminal activity. The convict has a long history of violent crimes, including burglary and attempted murder.
