Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that his office will seek the death penalty for 51-year-old Keisha Monique Epps and 37-year-old Tamra Marshon Stewart, who are charged with a litany of sex crimes and neglect involving two girls and two boys, ages 5, 5, 6 and 9, as reported by Fox News. According to charging documents, the pair allegedly confined the children for years in the cramped cab of a tractor-trailer, where they were systematically abused, denied schooling, and deprived of basic hygiene and medical care.
Epps, a truck driver who regularly ran a route between Miami and Atlanta, allegedly lived in the cab with Stewart — identified as her fiancé — and the four children, authorities said. Uthmeier described a nightmarish existence for the victims, who were allegedly trapped in close quarters with no meaningful escape from their abusers.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE RESIGNED BUT THE ALLEGATIONS DON'T END THERE
September 07, 2026
"These children were trapped in a rolling prison and abused by the adults who were supposed to protect them," Uthmeier said, condemning what he portrayed as a calculated betrayal of parental responsibility. He added that his office intends to use every legal tool available under Florida’s tough-on-crime statutes to hold the suspects accountable.
THE SUPREME COURT WILL DECIDE IF A NIGERIAN TERROR GROUP’S COOK GETS ASYLUM
"We will pursue with everything we have the death penalty. We will seek executions, if you want to come in here [in Florida] and you want to physically molest, abuse, and violate our little kids," Uthmeier declared, underscoring the state’s willingness to impose the harshest sanction for crimes against children. Florida law permits capital punishment for adults convicted of sexual battery against a child under the age of 12, a provision long supported by conservatives who argue that the most heinous offenses warrant the severest penalties.
TALARICO HOPES A NEW PAXTON STORY WILL BURY HIS 13-DAY DISAPPEARANCE
Investigators say the two girls were sexually abused by Stewart for years, while the boys were allegedly beaten when they tried to intervene. When the boys confronted Stewart after witnessing the abuse, he "beat them by punching them in their heads," according to investigative reports cited by Uthmeier’s office.
EL-SAYED'S CAMPAIGN IS NOW RESPONDING TO HIS SISTER’S POSTS —BRACE FOR IT!
The children told authorities they had informed Epps of the sexual abuse and had seen her witness it firsthand. Instead of intervening, she allegedly called one of the children "derogatory names" and continued to leave them alone with Stewart, the reports state, suggesting a pattern of deliberate indifference rather than mere negligence.
ELIZABETH WARREN IS BACK TO REVIVE ‘ELECTION INTERFERENCE’ CLAIMS WEEKS BEFORE VOTE
Stewart admitted to investigators that he had committed three sexual batteries against one of the girls, according to Uthmeier’s office. Medical examinations later revealed that one of the children had an untreated sexually transmitted infection, further corroborating the abuse allegations.
SIX FLAGS SHUTS DOWN CALIFORNIA GOLIATH AFTER MAN IS THROWN FROM TWIN COASTER IN GEORGIA
But authorities say the alleged crimes extended beyond sexual assault to a broader regime of physical and psychological torment. The couple is accused of confining the children in the truck cab without "time to take showers, use the restroom" or "exercise outside," according to investigative reports.
SHUT DOWN SANCTUARY POLICIES ACT ADVANCES AFTER DEADLY CASES—AND PUTS BLUE STATES ON NOTICE
"This case is one of, if not the most, horrific that my team has ever had to work on," Uthmeier said during a Sept. 1 news conference in Kissimmee, Florida. Over the years, he said, the children were forced to "use the bathroom" in cups and paper bags, a degrading routine that highlighted the extent of their isolation.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE CONFIRMS EXIT AS U.S. AMBASSADOR TO GREECE AFTER WHITE HOUSE RESIGNATION REQUEST
When the truck stopped, "the adults would go to the restroom," Uthmeier said. "They might take a shower, but they would leave the kids locked in this rolling dungeon," he added, describing a stark contrast between the adults’ relative freedom and the children’s captivity.
BILL MAHER SAYS HE FEELS FREER TALKING TO TRUMP THAN OBAMA OR CLINTON—AND BLAMES DEMOCRATS FOR IT
"As a result of the abuse" over the years, he said, the children "suffer severe physical infirmities." Court records indicate the children were kept inside the vehicle "for the majority of their days," with little opportunity for normal movement or development.
THE MONOLOGUE GILLIS DELIVERED ON SNL HAS WOKE CELEBRITIES FURIOUS
The children reported that they had not been "allowed to attend school for approximately five years," according to an arrest report. A detective noted that the children were "walking with an unnatural gait from being confined to the cab," a physical manifestation of their prolonged confinement.
FORMER DETROIT DEMOCRATS TURN ON ABDUL EL-SAYED IN MIKE ROGERS AD—AND THEIR WARNING IS BRUTAL
They were "fed poorly," and they never received medical or dental care — even in emergencies, the report states. Two of the children suffered untreated burns that left significant scarring, according to Uthmeier’s office, highlighting what authorities describe as a wholesale denial of basic care.
'THE VIEW' HOSTS DEFEND TALARICO AND LABEL REPUBLICAN TALK 'CONSPIRACY THEORIES' (VIDEO)
One of the girls recounted an incident in which she "burned herself badly with cooked noodles." "There was a lot of blood," the girl told investigators, yet she said neither adult sought medical attention for her injuries.
Neither Stewart nor Epps took her for treatment, she told authorities, and she now has a "permanent scar" from the burn, according to court records. The children said Stewart was responsible for supervising them when Epps was sleeping, showering, or driving the truck, placing him in a position of near-total control over their daily lives.
THE MAN ICE SHOT IN NEW YORK HAS A RECORD — A FORMER NEIGHBOR CALLED HIM A 'MACHETE-WIELDING MENACE'
All four children shared a single bunk in the cab so cramped that they had to lie "curled up side by side," reports show. Prosecutors say this arrangement underscores the squalid and inhumane conditions in which the children were forced to live.
Stewart is charged with "two counts of sexual battery by a person in familial or custodial authority, two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child under 12, two counts of battery of a child by expelling certain fluids or materials, two counts of child neglect without great bodily harm, and two counts of child neglect causing permanent disfigurement," according to Uthmeier’s office. Epps faces "two counts of sexual battery by a person in familial or custodial authority, two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child under 12, two counts of child neglect without great bodily harm, two counts of child neglect causing permanent disfigurement, and four counts of failure to report child abuse."
DAWN RAID ON ILHAN OMAR’S HOME PUT HAKEEM JEFFRIES IN A CORNER
Epps and Stewart were arrested on Aug. 6 and, as of Sept. 3, were being held in the Duval County Jail. The Duval County Office of the Public Defender is representing Stewart, while Epps is represented by Florida’s Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel.
BRACE FOR A GEORGIA SHOWDOWN AS JON OSSOFF TAPS HOLLYWOOD POWER BROKERS FOR CASH
Neither defense office responded to requests for comment before publication, leaving prosecutors’ detailed allegations publicly unchallenged for now. As the case moves forward, conservatives are likely to view Uthmeier’s aggressive pursuit of the death penalty as a necessary assertion of moral clarity in the face of unspeakable crimes against children, and as a reminder that in Florida, at least, the justice system still reserves its harshest judgment for those who prey on society’s most vulnerable.
