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Florida women accused of sextorting Hardee County grandmother in jail for baby’s hot car death: Documents

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Florida women accused of sextorting Hardee County grandmother in jail for baby’s hot car death: Documents


A Florida grandmother who is in jail after her granddaughter died under her watch in a hot car months after her grandson died in her care is accusing two women of extorting her in jail.

Who is Tracey Nix? 

Tracey Nix is a Wauchula grandmother who spent decades as a teacher. 

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Timeline:

In December 2021, deputies say her 16-month-old grandson wandered outside and drowned in a pond on Nix’s property. 

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Nix was not charged in that case. 

PREVIOUS: Wauchula woman arrested in granddaughter’s death after 2021 death of grandson

In November 2022, Nix’s 7-month-old granddaughter died after she was left in a hot car while Nix was babysitting. 

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Two of Tracey Nix’s grandchildren died in her care less than a year apart. 

In January 2025, a jury found her not guilty of aggravated manslaughter, but guilty of leaving a child in a car unattended.

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After the verdict was read, Nix was taken into custody. She was ordered to be held in jail without bond until her sentencing. 

Sextortion

According to an affidavit, while in jail, two women, Sandra Cardoza and Rosanna Sanchez, came up with a scheme to get money from Nix.

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Dig deeper:

Documents show that on February 19, Sanchez asked Nix to write her a love letter and Nix drafted a fabricated newspaper advertisement depicting a romantic relationship between herself and Sanchez. 

READ: Suspected Polk County swan thief arrested again in South Carolina: ‘He ran into trouble,’ Grady Judd says

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After Nix read the document to Sanchez, documents show that Sanchez demanded $1,000 from Nix, threatening to send it to the local newspaper if she did not comply. 

Pictured: Rosanna Sanchez. Image is courtesy of the Hardee County Sheriff's Office.

Pictured: Rosanna Sanchez. Image is courtesy of the Hardee County Sheriff’s Office. 

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The affidavit states Nix called her husband “under duress” and asked him to trust her and bring the money to the Hardee County Sheriff’s Office. 

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Nix’s husband met with a woman, later identified as Cardoza’s sister, Guadalupe Botello, in the parking lot and handed over the money. 

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On February 26, documents show Sanchez demanded an additional $10,000 from Nix and threatened to publicly expose her sexuality if she did not comply. 

Pictured: Sandra Cardoza. Image is courtesy of the Hardee County Sheriff's Office.

Pictured: Sandra Cardoza. Image is courtesy of the Hardee County Sheriff’s Office. 

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When Nix declined, the affidavit states that Sanchez pinned Nix against a wall. 

Nix escaped and called detention staff for help. 

While investigating, authorities say Nix admitted to having a consensual sexual encounter with Sanchez that also involved Cardoza on at least one occasion. 

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Tracey Nix mugshot courtesy of the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office.

Nix also told investigators that Sanchez claimed to have different personalities and had offered a voodoo ritual for a fee of $15,000 to ensure that Nix’s current legal charges would disappear. 

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Investigators looked at video footage that confirmed that Nix’s husband handed over a white envelope to a Hispanic woman in the sheriff’s office parking lot on February 19. They also analyzed call logs that corroborated statements from Nix and her husband. 

Cardoza has been charged with extortion, illegal use of a 2-way communication device, and conspiracy. 

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Sanchez has been charged with attempt to commit extortion, extortion, and conspiracy. 

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What’s next:

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Nix was transferred to the DeSoto County Jail on February 27 and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 3.

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Florida college Republicans group chat reveals racist texts: ‘Avoid the coloreds like the plague’

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Florida college Republicans group chat reveals racist texts: ‘Avoid the coloreds like the plague’


It only took three weeks for a group chat for conservative students at Florida International University (FIU) to become a place where participants eagerly used racist slurs, prompting widespread condemnation from community leaders.

Abel Alexander Carvajal, secretary of Miami-Dade county’s Republican party and a student at FIU’s College of Law, reportedly started the chat after the killing of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, in September 2025.

But on Wednesday, the Miami Herald published leaked WhatsApp conversations in which the college Republicans made racist, sexist, antisemitic and homophobic comments, including variations of the N-word used more than 400 times. Knowledge of the chat’s existence was revealed on the same day that Republican lawmakers in Florida pushed forward a bill to rename a one-mile stretch of road alongside FIU in honor of Kirk.

William Bejerano, who the Herald noted once tried to start an anti-abortion group at Miami Dade College, was the most prolific user of the N-word. Using the slur, Bejerano called for dozens of acts of extreme violence against Black people, including crucifying, beheading and dissecting.

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Dariel Gonzalez, then the College Republicans’ recruitment chair, who has recently applied to become a GOP committee member, responded to the calls for violence by saying: “How edgy.” He repeatedly used “colored” to describe Black people, including writing: “Ew you had colored professors?!” and “Avoid the coloreds like the plague,” according to the Herald.

Carvajal, who was appointed to a two-year role on the city of Hialeah’s planning and zoning board earlier this year, confirmed to the paper that the group chat was his doing, but he denied knowledge of the problematic comments until the publication contacted him about its logs last week.

“It’s been five months since this was sent and this is the first time I’ve seen this message,” Carvajal told the Herald.

“I guess to an extent, I bear some responsibility, cause I created a chat. But if I had seen this at the moment, I would have removed [Bejerano] from the chat. I probably would have even blocked his number.”

The Herald found that Carvajal had deleted 14 messages sent by other participants in the chat and 42 of his own messages before the publication obtained the chat’s logs.

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He also participated in some of the racist discussions. While referring to a Black student who allegedly left FIU’s College Republicans after a member of the group “called her a [N-word]”, the Floridian reported that Carvajal wrote: “Why didn’t miggress leave?” Elsewhere in the chat, the publication reported that Carvajal used “Miggress”, “Migglet” and “Migger” to refer to Black women, Black children and Black people, in general.

At one point, Gonzalez wrote: “You can fuck all the [K-word, a slur for Jewish people] you want. Just don’t marry them and procreate.”

Ian Valdes, the Turning Point USA FIU chapter president, responded, “I would def not marry a Jew,” before changing the group chat’s name from “Uber [R-word slur for disabled people] Yapping” to “Gooning in Agartha”. “Gooning” is a gen-Z slang term for male masturbation, while “Agartha” is a mythical white civilization promoted by Heinrich Himmler, one of the most powerful leaders in Nazi Germany next to Hitler.

Gonzalez reportedly described Agartha to the group chat as “Nazi heaven sort of”.

Kevin Cooper, the first Jewish chair of the Miami Dade Republican party, condemned the group chat in a statement published to X and called for Carvajal’s resignation.

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“The majority of our board voted to request Carvajal’s resignation. We have commenced removal proceedings and look forward to resolution from the Republican Party of Florida,” he wrote.

That call was echoed by Juan Porras, a Republican state representative and Miami-Dade GOP state committee member, who said in a statement: “Leadership carries responsibility. When someone in a leadership role engages in this kind of behavior, it damages the trust placed in our party by voters across Florida. For that reason, I am asking the Miami Dade Republican party secretary to step down from this position.”

In a joint statement, Florida Republican state senators Alexis Calatayud, Ileana Garcia and Ana Maria Rodriguez denounced the chats and called for the expulsion from party leadership of its participants.

“The individuals in the group chat have exposed how profoundly misaligned their beliefs are to the views of the Republican party of Florida,” their statement said. “We call for the immediate expulsion of the individuals disseminating from any level of leadership of the Miami-Dade Republican Party … We will not tolerate bigotry or discrimination.”

Multiple leaked group chats from young Republicans have created controversy in recent years.

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Last year, Politico published messages from a group chat of more than 100 conservatives across the country in which users also made racist and antisemitic comments. In 2022, a Young Republican group chat from North Dakota was revealed as a cesspool of homophobic and antisemitic rhetoric.



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Federal judge blocks DeSantis executive order declaring CAIR a 'terrorist organization'

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Federal judge blocks DeSantis executive order declaring CAIR a 'terrorist organization'


A federal court in Tallahassee has issued a temporary injunction blocking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) a “terrorist organization.” U.S. District Judge Mark Walker’s order comes nearly three months after DeSantis signed his executive order on Dec. 8. The order directed Florida’s executive and Cabinet agencies, as […]



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Gas prices rise in South Florida amid U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran, as the stock market also reports a dip

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Gas prices rise in South Florida amid U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran, as the stock market also reports a dip



Four days into the Iranian conflict, gas prices are rising at many stations in South Florida.

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“I’ve traveled all over the United States,” says Stacey Williams. CBS Miami spoke to him as he was gassing up on the turnpike. He paid $66 for 20 gallons of diesel to fill his pickup truck. Williams has noted the fluctuations in fuel as he drives to locations for his work on turbines. He just spent three weeks at the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant south of Miami.

“The salary we get paid per hour does not add up to what we pay for gas, housing, and food,” he says.

Mitchell Gershon is also dealing with the higher gas prices. He has to fill three vehicles constantly for his business—Thrifty Gypsy, a pop-up store at musical venues. He’s back and forth from Orlando to Miami and says fuel is costing him 20% more. When asked how he handles these fluctuations, he said, “Have a little backup cash so you are ready for it.”

The rise in oil prices contributed to a drop in the stock market on Tuesday, which means some retirement accounts dipped, too. CBS Miami talked to Chad NeSmith, director of investments at Tobias Financial Advisors in Plantation, for perspective on the drop.

“We are seeing most of the pullback today. Yesterday was a shock,” he says. He’s not expecting runaway oil prices but says investors should stay in the loop: “Pay attention to your portfolio. Stick to your goals. Have a plan because these things are completely unpredictable.”

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That unpredictability has Williams adjusting his budget. “You just cut back, cut corners, all you can do,” he says.



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