One of the detectives who responded to the crime scene adopted the Florida boy who was nearly killed by his own father in 2018.
Corporal Mike Blair of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office responded to a crime where a man had killed his girlfriend and daughter. The man also stabbed and lit his son on fire.
The child was not expected to live, said Blair. But he did survive. And when the detective visited him at the hospital after a few weeks, he and the boy had an instant connection. They even watched a movie together in the room.
This was the start of their unique relationship.
One evening, Mike asked his wife, Danyel, if they could spend an evening with Ronnie, the young boy. Little did Mike know, Danyel was praying to God that he would have a place for Ronnie in his heart and adopt him as their own.
Eventually, they were able to adopt Ronnie and added him to their six children.
Ronnie said that the Blairs were nice people and they really take good care of him. When asked about his deceased mother and sister, he said that he would never forget them.
She was a good mom and they did a lot of thing together, Ronnie recounts. Her sister could not speak which is why he learned sign language.
According to Mike Blair, Ronnie is already aware of what happened. This is why he is telling his son to not be defined by what happened in his past. Blair taught him that if he becomes sad about the past events in his life, he should repeat this saying:
“I am safe, I am loved, and I am part of this family.”
The suspect is now serving life sentence in prison. During the trial, Ronnie acted as his own attorney. He testified against his father and won the case.