VOLUSIA COUNTY, FL – Prosecutors in Volusia County, Florida, are pursuing the death penalty for Charles Leon Ivy, 34, accused of fatally stabbing Den’Jah Moore, 30, the mother of his children, and setting her Daytona Beach apartment ablaze, leading to the death of their 10-month-old child, Messiah Calixte, and critically injuring two other children.
The notice filed by prosecutors on Wednesday described the crimes as “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel,” committed in a “cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification.” The aggravating factors include the extreme youth of Calixte, as Florida law considers it an aggravating circumstance to commit a capital felony against someone under 12 years of age.
On the night of November 21, police and firefighters responded to the blaze at Moore’s residence. They managed to rescue Messiah from his crib and save the other two children, ages 4 and 5, who were in critical condition. However, Messiah later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.
The investigation revealed the fire was intentionally set in two locations: a bedroom and on the kitchen stove. Ivy became a suspect as he was the father of at least two of the children. When approached by police at his Ormond Beach residence, he was seen loading bags into an SUV. An ensuing traffic stop led to his arrest, with investigators noting injuries on his leg and hand.