On November 6, 1998, single mom Shandelle Maycock called around, seeking someone to pick up her daughter Quatisha from a caretaker. Harrel Braddy, who had provided rides on numerous occasions, agreed to do so. He dropped off the 5-year-old at her Miami apartment and stayed to chat, which was customary. Maycock was already tired from work and not in the mood to indulge his tendency to overstay his welcome. She said she was expecting company and asked him to leave. Enraged, he said, “You used me,” according to Maycock’s testimony, and choked her until she passed out.
When Maycock awoke, she was still in her apartment, but Braddy again choked her until she passed out, according to court docs. The next time Maycock regained consciousness, she was in Braddy’s Lincoln Town Car rental. So was Quatisha. As she prepared to leap out of the moving vehicle with Quatisha, Braddy sped up. He turned a corner and they fell out. He stopped the car, went back to retrieve them and locked Maycock in the trunk. He drove for 30 to 45 minutes, then choked Maycock again until she was unconscious.
Maycock was left to die on the side of U.S. Route 27. Braddy left Quatisha off Interstate 75, in the Everglades area known as Alligator Alley. He told detectives that he “knew she would probably die.”
Maycock survived the attack. Braddy was brought in for questioning the following day. Court records show Braddy had previously been sentenced to 30 years in prison for a separate crime, but was released after serving 13 years, approximately 18 months before Quantisha’s killing.
Quatisha’s body was found on November 8, floating in a Broward County canal. Her left arm was missing and there were bite marks on her head and stomach, which the medical examiner testified were alligator bites.
Braddy was convicted in 2007 of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and kidnapping, among other charges. A jury chose the death penalty by 11-1. But 10 years later, a Florida law led to a resentencing hearing.
