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Dreams dashed in Stuart toddler's death

Nellier Lima STANTON M. PADDOCK
stanton.paddock@scripps.com



By GABRIEL MARGASAK
gabriel.margasak@scripps.com
August 12, 2006
STUART — Wilson Filho dreamed those dreams that fathers do and, in his, little Harold would grow up to be a Brazilian soccer star.
At 21 months old, the energetic toddler loved playing the world's game outside the family home in working-class Golden Gate, bordering a dirt lot perfect for kicking the ball around.


But this father's hopes were snatched away Thursday when his son was found dead in the family truck, and his wife was charged with aggravated manslaughter for allegedly forgetting the boy in his car seat for eight hours as she cleaned houses and ran errands, Stuart police said.
"He was the best little boy I ever met in my life. He was the best little boy ever made," the sobbing father said from his home Friday. "I knew if he lived he would have made me very proud of him."

The loss of Harold shrouded in tragedy the criminal case against mom Nellier "Nelly" Lima, 26, who was held Friday in the Martin County jail without bail. Prosecutors can proceed in several directions after reviewing the evidence in the coming days: officially file the charge as is, upgrade to a tougher charge, reduce the charge or drop the case.

The current charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

"I need the most support right now for my wife. She's in jail. I don't know what's going to turn out (for) her," said Filho, whose family remains in Brazil. "It's a tragic accident and a tragic loss. We love our kids dearly. And whatever happened, it was a tragedy. It was nothing masterminded and nothing wrong (done by) her."

Lima told police she was supposed to drop Harold at day care before taking her daughter Jessica, 6, to Port Salerno Elementary School. But the boy was sleeping soundly and she decided drop him off later to avoid waking him. Out of her routine, she then forgot the boy in his car seat and went to work, authorities said.

Lima went about her business cleaning houses and went shopping at the Dollar General store on East Ocean Boulevard shortly after 3 p.m.

She was putting her purchases in the Ford F-150 truck at 4:14 p.m. when she realized Harold was still there.

"Oh my God! It's my fault! It's my fault," Lima wailed in the background of a 911 call as store worker Jami Hall, 28, tried in vain to perform CPR.

On Friday, Hall placed a blue teddy bear and flowers next to a box for donations outside the Dollar General to help pay for funeral expenses.

"My heart does go out to her family...," she said. "This is least I can do to help them."

One woman in hospital scrubs dropped a $10 bill in the box, which is scheduled to be in front of the store in Cedar Pointe Plaza again today. Hall said she plans to take the money to police after the weekend so they can give the donations to the family.

Detectives still were piecing together the case, trying to figure out details such as the mother's residency status and how she could have forgotten her baby.

"This is not an open-and-shut case. There's new leads that are popping up right now," said Detective Michael Gerwan, 35.

Gerwan said he was calling the Brazilian embassy for help on Lima's immigration status. The family told police the boy's father is a legal U.S. resident but his wife had yet to get her official papers.

While many in the community expressed outrage at the mother, those who know Lima said the charge against her is completely unrepresentative of how she cared for little Harold.

"Hasn't she been punished enough? She just lost her baby," said Palm City resident Jan Dalcorso, 55, who has rented her Golden Gate home to the couple for about a year.

"Nellier has always been a wonderful mother. If she couldn't find a job that allowed her to be with her kids, she didn't take it. Her life revolves around those kids ...

"This is just a horrible accident. People shouldn't be judging her," she said. "They should be saying prayers that she can get through this."

Back on Ellendale Street at a house now in mourning, the father could barely speak between quiet sobs and memories of his boy.

"He was one of the healthiest boys. He was a very smart kid. He loved playing soccer," Filho, 42, said. "It's just tearing me apart."