A Florida man found guilty of the murder of his 6-year-old son in 2022 will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Larry Rhodes Jr., 25, was arrested in 2022 after finding his son unconscious with his head in a toilet bowl. When first responders arrived on July 5, 2022, Rhodes and his girlfriend, Bianca Blaise, 28, reported that the boy had possibly drowned.
An investigation quickly revealed that Rhodes and Blaise had severely beaten the boy after catching him drinking from the toilet. After being taken to the hospital, the boy died, and his parents were charged with murder.
As Law&Crime previously reported , Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez said at a press conference at the time that the boy’s “parents got very angry that he was drinking out of the toilet and started to beat him. First, his mother beat him.
The father then began punching the little boy repeatedly with closed fists. He punched him several times. In the head and stomach areas. This was a six-year-old child.
Lopez added, “Perhaps he was thirsty. He went to the loo. He was attempting to survive. “Mama caught him, and the poor guy paid the price.”
According to the charging documents, other hotel guests heard a “thud” coming from the room where Rhodes and Blaise were staying with their six children. Blaise reportedly admitted to police that she gave the children “whoopings,” but she also stated that the children enjoyed recreating wrestling and UFC fights they saw on television.
Blaise was also arrested and charged with child neglect.
In December 2024, Rhodes was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated child abuse, and four counts of child abuse in connection with his son’s death and abuse of his other children. He was found guilty after a trial.
According to court records, Rhodes received a sentence of life in prison plus 35 years.
