POLICE: PARENTS DINE OUT, LEAVE 5 CHILDREN TO STARVE

On a Tuesday afternoon, a driver in the 700 block of 15th street in Miami Beach sees a 6-year-old boy running across 15th street, unsupervised and in a high traffic area. Calling 911, the driver relates what he is seeing, and officers arrive on scene in a matter of minutes. Police see the child leaving an apartment complex by himself and ask the boy where he lives. The child leads the officers to his apartment to show them he isn't lost and the apartment door is answered by the oldest person in the apartment, the boys 12-year-old sister.

Officers find there are a total of five children in the apartment between the ages of 6 and 12, with no adults in the home. The officers report a strong odor of urine, the children are not bathed, their clothes are dirty and there is no food in the house. The apartment doesn't have a functioning stove, no electricity, and no working toilet. . Asking the children if they are hungry, they all say 'yes' and tell the police their last meal had been around 10 p.m. the night before.

The children tell the police they have been without electricity for around two months. Trying to locate their parents, the children tell the police they have no way of contacting their mother, but they know she works at a hotel in Miami. They don't know where their father works.

Police officers finally contact the children's mother, Azra Nikocevic and get her to come to the police station. Officers question Nikocevic about what the children have told them about going to bed hungry and having no electricity. She tells investigators the electricity to their apartment has been cut off for about 6 weeks because they got behind on the bill. She also tells investigators she is trying to get assistance with food stamps but denies depriving her children of food.

Azra Nikocevic and Sanel Canovic are arrested after leaving their five children ages six to 12 unattended in a filthy apartment with no food, no electricity, and no working toilet. The mother gave a statement to police and denies depriving her children of food while the children's father refused to speak to police without an attorney. Both are charged with five felony child neglect charges, and the children were taken into protective custody while authorities investigate.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

• Derek Smith - Criminal Defense Attorney, www.dwsmithlegal.com
• Dr. Jeff Kieliszewski - Forensic Psychologist, Author: “Darksides", darksides.podia.com, YouTube: Dr. Jeff Kieliszewski, Forensic Psychologist
• Officer Christopher Bess - Miami Beach Police Department
• Dr. Michelle DuPre - Forensic Pathologist, Medical Examiner and Detective: Lexington County Sheriff's Department, Author: “Money, Mischief, and Murder: The Murdaugh Dynasty...the Rest of the Story" ; "Homicide Investigation Field Guide" & "Child Abuse Investigation Field Guide", Forensic Consultant DMichelleDupreMD.com
• Paula Rohde - Child abuse/welfare consultant and expert, Former Child Protective Services Administrator for Orange County, CA. abuse and neglect investigations. Paula Rohde Consulting LLC, Twitter: @PaulaRohde2.
• Chelsea Jones - Weekend Evening Anchor / Reporter at CBS News Miami, Emmy Award winner for 2024 National coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals, website: www.cbsmiami.com, X, IG and FB: @ChelseaJonesTV

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