Boy Survives Fathers’ Abuse And Gets Adopted By Policeman Assigned To His Case

No child deserves to be subjected to abuse, especially from the hands of his own parents. Sadly, that is not the life that Ronnie knew. He was only 9 years old when he survived being stabbed multiple times by his own father. The father was also convicted of the murders of Ronnie’s mother and sister.

Ronnie O’Neil III brutally murdered his wife, Kenyatta Barron, and his daughter, Ron’Niveya, on the evening of March 18, 2018.

Recalling the dreadful incident, Ronnie said, “I remember feeling scared and not really knowing what was going on, why this was happening.”

He was not content with killing his own wife and daughter. O’Neil then turned to his son and stabbed him 20 times. He then proceeded to set the boy on fire. And when the authorities learned about what happened to him, they could not believe how Ronnie could have survived everything that was done to him by his own father.

Ronnie was just eight years old…

Michael Blair, the investigator on his case, could not believe what this boy had been through. After Kenyatta made a desperate 911 call screaming for her life, he was immediately dispatched to the scene alongside several other detectives.

The detective said, “He has to be a miracle. The injuries that he sustained and what he went through. There is absolutely no reason he should be alive.” When pressed for more details, Blair admits that this was the “most horrible” case he had ever worked on.

Little Ronnie went through even more misery than he already had. The trial involved Ronnie’s father representing himself. In fact, he questioned his own child in a hostile manner about the events of that night where the boy lost his mother and sister, and almost lost his life too. It sounds like the father was trying to pin the blame on little Ronnie.

He and his wife returned later that day to keep an eye on Ronnie. That night would prove to be a life-changing moment for the Blair family and the little boy.

Michael and Danyel were by Ronnie’s side the entire time he was in the intensive care unit at Tampa General Hospital. An arm wrapped in gauze and extremely drugged, he drifted in and out of sleep with the support of the couple. The child reached out and grasped Mike’s hand as he was leaving Ronnie’s hospital room. The investigator had an immediate gut feeling that this kid was going to need his help.

Despite what happened, Mike knew Ronnie would live. He said, “There was no expectation Ronnie would live. I was surprised that he was even alive because of all his horrific injuries.”

Talking to People, Danyel said, “It was just devastating to me that he didn’t have a mom to take care of him in that condition.”

Ronnie, at such a little age, has already endured a great deal. Detective Michael Blair and his wife Danyel have adopted Ronnie. The detective saw the need to give Ronnie a second opportunity at knowing the love and acceptance of a family, even if they are not blood relatives.

He becomes the sixth kid of the couple. Also, Danyel tells Inside Edition that she always knew she wanted to be Ronnie’s mother.