The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

A DISTRAUGHT grandmother wants to know the circumstances around the death of her two-year-old grandson Daniel Nixon, “a sweet, sweet boy” found dead in bushes near his home on Tuesday.

Daniel, Barbara Nixon said, had recently learned how to walk.

He was at home with his mother before going missing, Ms Nixon said, adding that the house door was open while the boy’s mother was in the bathroom washing the baby’s clothes, creating the opportunity for him to go outside.

“We don’t know if he came in the back, but from four o’clock, we were looking for him,” she said tearfully. “They were calling and asking the neighbours.”

“Grammy love you, Danny.”

Concerned residents Tuesday evening alerted the police after discovering the unresponsive male toddler in the bushes near their residence. 

“I had him from he came from the hospital,” Ms Nixon said. “I used to take care of him so much.”

“I have so many photos of me and him in my bed and in my hand. He is such a sweet little boy. I never dreamed in my wildest dreams that something like this would happen to him.”

“I don’t know who would do this to a baby. I couldn’t sleep. I ain’t sleeping and I ain’t eating.”

The grandmother said the child was found partially clothed, lying among banana leaves. He wore no pants or underwear, only a shirt.

The family has lived in the community for over 30 years, with many neighbours describing the area as a “peaceful corner”.

The Animal Control Unit was at the death scene taking blood samples of stray dogs, although police did not explain why. Some residents speculated the boy was a victim of a dog attack.

Daniel is the youngest of four children. The others are aged 10, five, and four.

 Ms Nixon said the boy’s father, Douglas Nixon, 40, is having difficulty accepting the death.

Neighbours described Mr Nixon as a dedicated father who worked two jobs to provide for his family.

 “This morning, my son broke down. I tried to be strong for him, but I couldn’t,” Ms Nixon, a grandmother of 14, said.

 “He cried like a baby this morning in my arms.”

 The boy’s mother, who she said is on medication to support mental health challenges, is in police custody.

 She expressed concern that the mother’s health will decline following Daniel’s death.

 Meanwhile, child advocate Patrice Hanna-Carey demanded answers yesterday, asking whether the parents will be held accountable.

 She said in a voice note: “We would like to know from these guardians, whomever they are, what was the situation in the scenario? How could the child be left in such a vulnerable state that it ended up now deceased?

 “We want answers. It means nothing that it was a woman crying.

 “Emotional tactics and schemes will not play out in our society anymore and so we are calling for our justice system and our Royal Bahamas Police, this is not the time for mercy.

 “This is the time for accountability, and it is to be had.”