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A U.S. Magistrate judge agreed to grant a man who is awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges special conditions to say goodbye in private to his fiancée and daughter who were killed last month in Florida.
Judge Dave Lee Brannon ordered David Chiddo be held in pretrial detention on drug trafficking charges, but ruled he may have a private moment with his family’s remains if U.S. Marshals can accommodate. A handful of family and friends sat in support of Chiddo, and cried for the loss of their family.
On June 27, Nilda Sheffield, 53, her daughter, Elizabeth Flores, 30, and her grandchildren, Xavier, 7, and Sofia, 2, were found shot to death in their Greenacres, Fla., home by friends. After an initial investigation, city police believe Sheffield killed the family and then herself.
The judge ruled the planned memorial on Friday is too public of a place for Chiddo to be under supervision.
Flynn Parker Bertisch, Chiddo’s attorney, asked the judge if his client could be allowed private time with the ashes of Flores and the couple’s daughter at Bertisch’s law office under the supervision of the U.S. Marshals.
Judge Brannon said that in his decades in the court, he had plenty of defendants who had mothers and fathers pass away while in custody, but never an instance like this.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a situation when their entire family has been wiped out,” he said.
At the reminder of the lives lost, Chiddo’s friends and family cried out in court.
Judge Brannon expressed his deepest condolences to Chiddo. He said given the circumstances, the court should be able to “blend security and compassion” in this case.
Chiddo, who has been in custody since June 4, was indicted on several charges surrounding trafficking drugs between 2012 and 2014, according to court documents. His trial is set for Oct. 5.
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