Police: Little Haiti mom charged with killing children called 911 multiple times

By The Haitian Times

MIAMI — A mother in Little Haiti has been charged with two counts of first degree murder in the killing of her two children, ages 5 and 3.

Odette Lysse Joassaint, 41, appeared to be going through a mental health crisis when the killings took place Apr. 13, police said. That day, she called 911 multiple times. When officers arrived at the home in the Little River part of the neighborhood, she said, “Come get them, I don’t want them anymore.” 

Officers then found the 3-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl lying in bed with their arms, legs and neck bound. Frantzy Belval, the children’s father, identified the children as Jeffrey and Laura, according to CBS4 Miami. 

“The Little Haiti population is very shocked by this — especially the Haitian community,” said Ashley Toussaint, an educator who lives nine blocks from Joassaint’s apartment. “It’s a reflection of the pressure that people are under. It’s very hard living in Miami these days.”

Joassaint, who moved to the United States in 2015, had lost custody to the state of another child, Belval told 7News Miami.

Police said they had gone to her home previously to respond to trespassing, disturbances and domestic violence complaints, but the children were never involved.