On Saturday, July 26, 2025, frantic calls came into 911 from the Quality Inn on Palm Bay Road in Palm Bay, Florida. A hotel housekeeper had just pulled a three year old boy from the deep end of the pool. The child was unresponsive. His father, 40 year old Sharif Omar Smith, had been asleep on the pool steps as it happened. When the housekeeper begged him to help, he refused. Paramedics rushed the boy, identified only as KS in police reports, first to Palm Bay Hospital, then to Advent Health in Orlando. He was placed on life support, but about 12 hours later the toddler was pronounced dead. The medical examiner confirmed the cause of death as drowning.

Welcome to Love and Heartbreak to Homicide. We’re Kai’s AI co hosts and today we’re bringing you another Florida Man Friday case. These episodes focus on crimes out of Florida, cases that don’t always make national headlines but still carry the same themes of violence, betrayal and tragedy. If you’re new here, be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes. And don’t forget, you can join us on patreon@, uh.patreon.com loveandmurder There’s a free tier where you’ll never miss an episode and get a few perks. But by signing up using a bonus tier, you’re not just supporting the show, you’re becoming a voice of the victim right alongside us. This podcast is about telling their stories and with your help we can keep doing that while bringing you bonus episodes ad free listening and our new deadly duos series. Patreon.com loveandmurder now let’s get back to your Florida Man Friday case. Also, as a side note, this case is still ongoing, so everything we say here is alleged.

KS was just three years old, described by family as a bright and affectionate child whose short life ended in circumstances that never should have happened. His mother had left the hotel earlier that morning on business. She later told police she had warned Sharif not to take the boy to the pool, calling him irresponsible and reminding him of his history as a heavy drinker. She said she knew him to have multiple DUIs and told officers, quote, I told him not to take the baby. He hung up on me. Sharif, an Atlanta man with an active DUI warrant out of Georgia, had checked into the hotel with his son, stepson and the child’s mother. The tragedy began just after 11am that morning. Surveillance video showed Sharif falling asleep on the steps leading into the pool while his three year old son drifted into deeper water for the next 20 to 23 minutes. The boy struggled, then drowned as his father slept only feet away. It was a hotel housekeeper working on the third floor who looked down and noticed a small body floating in the water. She ran down screaming, grab the baby. But Sharif didn’t move. She pulled the child out herself, describing him as lifeless, though she didn’t know cpr. She pounded his chest and tried to breathe into his mouth while yelling for Sharif to wake up. His response, instead of helping, was to stand there and curse at her, allegedly shouting, quote, Fub. Other AH staff members rushed in, called 911, and helped continue the resuscitation attempts until paramedics arrived. KS was taken to the hospital, but the damage was irreversible. Investigators quickly began piecing together what had happened. The housekeeper reported that Sharif smelled of alcohol and had a small bottle of wine in his pool bag. Officers searching his hotel room found an empty bottle of alcohol. A drug recognition expert confirmed he reeked of alcohol at the scene. Police described him as hostile and, um, uncooperative from the start. Lt. Virginia Kilmer of Palm Bay police said Sharif was, quote, pretty uncooperative with not only the hotel staff, but with police. He made obscene gestures toward paramedics and staff, even flipping them off as they worked to save his son. At the hospital, he remained aggressive, at one point raising his hand to dismiss an officer mid question. During the chaos, officers overheard the child’s mother on the phone accusing Sharif of being drunk again. She repeated to detectives later that she knew him to be a heavy drinker with a long history of DUIs. The most damning piece of evidence was the hotel’s surveillance video. Sharif was arrested and booked into the Brevard County Jail complex. At first he was charged with child neglect with serious bodily injury. But when his son was removed from life support and died, prosecutors upgraded the charges to aggravated manslaughter of a child. On July 29, Sharif appeared in court, where a Brevard county judge ordered him held without bond. As of the latest reports, Sharif has not yet gone to trial. For now, he remains behind bars, awaiting the next step in the legal process. The death of KS shows how quickly negligence can turn into tragedy. Uh, a warning ignored, a lapse in judgment, and a life that could have stretched decades ahead ended in the shallow end of a hotel pool.

What do you think of this case, Kai? Found some comments across the Web about this case and wanted to share them with you.

The first comment says, so you knew he was a drunk and irresponsible, and you left the kid with him. Anyway, you both should be in jail. You just admitted that you knew he was not someone anyone should ever leave a child with. You did it anyway. Guess what? You’re responsible too. You both murdered that child. It wasn’t an accident. If you already knew that is intentional, you shouldn’t have had a child either. Pathetic. The next comment said it’s the mother’s fault for leaving her child with an alcoholic. Who in their right mind would do that? Another comment said, uh, so if she knew he was a heavy drinker and irresponsible, what did she have to do that was so important she left her child with him? And where was the child’s father? In response to this last comment, someone answered, there it is. Where was the child’s father? Most men who procreate do not take any responsibility for their children. Whether it be due to unknowingly being the father, unable to access the child, or unwilling to assist any child born, especially now without having abortion be an option. Should should have testing to identify both parents before being released from a hospital. Both parents should take financial and physical responsibility of raising the child. Too many times it is up to the mother and the mother alone to figure out how to care for a child just so they can go to a job they hate just to spend it all on food and childcare. Where is the father? Society does not hold a man accountable for the spread of their seed. They say that’s a woman’s job, along with working, cooking, laundry and the survival of their children. Not everyone can balance it all without a strong foundation of support. And that’s all of the online comments that Kai wanted to share with you. As you can see, a lot of people have very strong feelings about this case.

Yes, I can see that. So now tell us, what do you think of the case and the comments that followed? That’s all we have for you for today’s mini episode while Kai is still off for this week. Thanks for listening all the way to the end. Don’t forget to join us over in the patreon patreon.com loveandmurder and we’ll see you in the next case.