A 25-year-old woman from Florida has been arrested in connection with the death of her 5-year-old stepson, who authorities claim drowned in a man-made ditch filled with urine and waste products. Cheyenne Star Fite was arrested on Tuesday and charged with one count of aggravated manslaughter by child abuse, according to court records seen by Law&Crime.
According to a probable cause affidavit, deputies from the Osceola Sheriff’s Office responded to a complaint about a drowning at a home in Kissimmee’s 5800 block of North Kenansville Road at 5:30 p.m. on October 11, 2024. Upon arrival, first responders discovered a 5-year-old child “unresponsive, naked, and covered in mud.”
Paramedics brought the youngster to HCA Florida Osceola East Emergency, where he was declared dead at 6:17 p.m. due to drowning.
Fite allegedly told detectives that she was watching the youngster and his two siblings, aged 3 and 5, and let the boys go around the yard because there was no electricity on the property at the time. She also stated that many ankle-deep puddles had formed in the yard as a result of Hurricane Helene’s rain and that the children were “entertaining themselves in the mud.”
“Cheyenne [Fite] stated as the kids were playing, she turned her back for approximately 5 minutes to fold clothes inside the trailer,” according to the testimony. “Suddenly, Cheyenne [Fite] hears her 5-year-old daughter yell, ‘[redacted] is under the water.'” However, Cheyenne [Fite] did not trust [her daughter] at first and continued her duty.”
Fite also stated that a family friend came over earlier that day and “dug a deep hole to drain the water on the property.” According to investigators, the hole was around 15 feet by 10 feet and was 7 feet deep. It was near to a pigpen and contained what “appeared to be run-off water from the pigpen.”
After a while, Fite realized she hadn’t seen the 5-year-old child and that he was “inside the manmade hole underneath the ‘dirty and muddy’ water,” so she jumped in and pulled him out. Fite said the youngster didn’t know how to swim and refused to provide authorities her phone number, stating it was “in the hole.” Fite stated that she cried for help after being unable to phone 911, and her mother arrived to assist.
The boy’s father informed authorities that he was working at the time of the event and that Fite was responsible for his son. The father told police he “had suspicions” Fite was “not properly providing supervision of his son at the time” and that he was “furious a hole was dug without his knowledge and that hole was where his son drowned.”
Fite claimed the hole was “a few feet away” from where she was folding clothes and that she could hear the children if she turned around. However, police stated the distance between the hole and the trailer was nearly the length of a football field, and her view would have been impeded, making it “unlikely” that she could have offered “proper supervision of the children at the time.”
When authorities examined the hole where the youngster drowned, they discovered “an odor emanating from the water consistent with fecal matter and urine.”
“There was a green child-size boogie board in the middle of the drainage ditch near the area where [the victim] was recovered,” according to the witness statement.
According to the complaint, one of the victim’s siblings informed police that Fite had left her brother outside naked as punishment for harming a chicken earlier that day. The child also said that Fite was sleeping in bed while her sibling drowned.
According to court documents, the boy died as a result of drowning, and his “lungs were lined by brown and green mud.” Fite is now being held without bond at the Osceola County Jail and is expected to appear in court on Thursday.
Riley Scot Hogeback, the victim’s name, was listed in an online obituary.
“He was a sweet but mischievous boy, always ready with a laugh that could light up a room,” the memorial states. “Even in difficult times, Riley’s attitude remained indomitable, and his smile never faded. His passion of life and capacity to find joy in the simplest of things inspired everyone who knew him.