MARION COUNTY, Fla. – The long road to justice for two-month-old Wailan Roy Schroer reached a definitive milestone yesterday as a Marion County jury delivered a guilty verdict against his mother, 43-year-old Melissa Waiman Schroer. After weighing the evidence presented in the 2019 death of the infant, jurors found the Ocala woman guilty of Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child.
The case dates back to December 11, 2019, when law enforcement officers arrived at the Villages Hospital to find a deceased infant who had been brought in unresponsive. Initial reports from the scene indicated the child was found at a home off Southeast 36th Avenue before being rushed to medical personnel, who pronounced the boy dead on arrival.
In statements to Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Schroer claimed she had put the baby down for a nap and fell asleep herself. She alleged she was woken up by another child in the house who noticed Wailan wasn’t breathing.
READ: $2.5 Million Pennsylvania Fentanyl Pipeline Smashed: Massive Philly Stash House Raided
It was then that her husband, Jeffery Schroer, reportedly grabbed the infant and drove to the hospital.
However, a February 2020 autopsy by the Medical Examiner’s Office told a much more clinical and devastating story. The cause of death was officially determined to be methamphetamine toxicity, complicated by dehydration and inanition.
With the death ruled a homicide, investigators began building a case that pointed directly to the parents.
The legal process was delayed when the couple disappeared from Florida. Authorities eventually tracked them to Florence, Kentucky, where they were apprehended by the Boone County Sheriff’s Office in late 2021 and extradited back to Marion County to face charges.
“It’s heartbreaking to learn of the conditions this young, vulnerable, and innocent infant was exposed to,” said Bill Gladson, Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney. “His short life was selfishly taken away because of the decision of this degenerate defendant who chose to use illicit narcotics instead of concerning herself with the well-being of her own child.”
While Melissa Schroer now awaits her June 29, 2026, sentencing before Judge Barbara Kissner, the legal chapter is not yet closed for the family. Her husband, Jeffery Schroer, faces the same charges and is currently pending prosecution. The case was brought to trial by Assistant State Attorneys Marissa Meyer and Katrina Self.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox
