HARDEE COUNTY, Fla. — A Hardee County judge extended 66-year-old Tracey Nix's inpatient mental health treatment facility stay on Thursday.
Two of the grandmother's grandchildren died under her care in less than a year.
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In 2021, 16-month-old Ezra Schock drowned. Then last year, 7-month-old Uriel Schock was forgotten in the back seat of Nix's car.
Nix is charged with aggravated manslaughter in her granddaughter's death.
At the end of April, the judge granted a motion to allow Nix to go to a mental health facility outside the county in St. Cloud, Fla.
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Thursday's hearing focused on whether extend her 30-day stay an additional 10 days after the Blackberry Center wrote a letter to the court asking for more time.
The state had no objection as long as Nix continued daily check-ins with the court. Nix joined the hearing remotely, sitting next to her therapist from the Blackberry Center.
“Every day is crucial, I think," her therapist said. "I just wanted to make sure she gets the maximum, enough time for her, for her benefit.”
The next pre-trial hearing is scheduled for June 22.
