My beloved uncle Xavier Elias, also known as Gogi by our family was a victim of guardianship abuse and neglect. Xavier had Autism and Cerebral palsy since birth, which made him the “perfect cherry” for predatory guardians in the State of Florida. As a result of the abuse and neglect by the agency who stole him from our family, he passed away on March 1, 2021. Originally the doctor at North Dade Nursuing & Rehabilitation claimed he died as a result of a heart attack, however, a year later and $5,000 for an autopsy it concluded that his cause of death was a result of Sepsis.

Xavier was admitted to Larkin Community Hospital on September 23, 2020 for a side effect to a medication called Depakote, which was causing him to show signs of aggressiveness. Prior to the hospital admission he had a telehealth visit with his doctor who advised the ALF administrator to discontinue giving him this medication. He did not enter the hospital because he was ill or had COVID-19. He entered the hospital because the ALF administrator wanted to get rid of him so she could retire from running the ALF.

Prior to my family having to foot the bill for this autopsy to help find answers, the Miami-Dade Medical examiner received his body and medical records. However, they did not receive 12 months of medical records, only from September 23, 2020 to March 1, 2021. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner declined to perform an autopsy on Xavier because they ruled it to be a natural death caused by a heart attack. As I previously stated, the private autopsy we had conducted on Xavier indicated Sepsis as the cause of death.

The final report indicated Sepsis that caused acute respiratory failure, bilateral phenomena, bilateral pleural effusions, sacral wounds with fecal material present with inflammation and necrosis, cholecysitis, and a healing pressure wound that was still open on his right foot.

According to the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiners Physicians Responsibility in Death Certification & Reporting, they provide a list of words used by doctors which should signal that the death might come under the jurisdiction of the Medical Examiner. Sepsis is one of these words listed, and is bolded for emphasis on this list.

Florida Statutes mandate that medical personnel must not willingly violate the law. It is a misdemeanor of the first degree to knowingly fail or refuse to report such a death and circumstances or to refuse to make available prior medical or other information pertinent to the death investigation. In addition, bodies that have been prematurely released to families/funeral homes may have to be disinterred if the cause of death comes under Medical Examiner jurisdiction. In such cases, the legal and other related expenses may be passed on to the hospital, nursing home, or physician for payment. A very careful review of the medical record and the cause of death is the first step to avoiding such problems.

Physicians must also be aware that violations of Chapter 406 of the Florida Statutes may result in disciplinary action by the Board of Medicine of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

https://www.miamidade.gov/medicalexaminer/library/physicians-responsibility-death-certification.pdf

I was notified by the investigator who according to the police report from the day he passed away was assigned to his case that despite the evidence me and my family have given him that they will not be looking into Xavier Elias’s death any further, and that the report from the day he passed will be the only report written. This came after meeting with the detective on March 18, 2021 who advised us that he would need to speak with his sergeant about continuing an investigation into his death because this individual never actually assigned him to the case. He stated that the officers who responded the day of his passing just simply threw him into the police report without their sergeant assigning him. 

This situation that happened to my uncle is not an isolated incident, and urging the North Miami Police Department to continue this investigation would not only be helping bring #JUSTICE4GOGI. But, will also raise awareness around the pervasiveness of this issue happening amongst the intellectually and cognitively disabled communities across Florida and our country. 

Please watch “I Care A Lot” on Netflix to learn more about the predatory nature of the guardianship industry in our country. Also, look up the hashtag #JUSTICE4GOGI to find videos and posts on Tiktok, Instagram, and Facebook about his case. Thank you for helping create change and to pursue justice for the voiceless victims of guardianship abuse and neglect. 

PLEASE CALL THE NORTH MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENT @ +1 (305) 949-5500 FOR THEM TO REOPEN THE DEATH INVESTIGATION FOR XAVIER ELIAS AND TO DILIGENTLY WORK TO BRING JUSTICE AND HOLD THOSE ACCOUNTABLE FOR HIS DEATH.