Family communications showed adults knew the 3-month-old was struggling before he died from dehydration and malnutrition according to investigators.
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Days before 3-month-old Robert Gunter died, members of his family were already exchanging messages about whether he had enough food, whether something was wrong with him and who should be responsible for his care, according to records described by investigators.
Those communications have become one of the clearest timelines in a criminal investigation that now involves four defendants. Local reports citing court records say a message on Aug. 12, 2025, referred to the infant being out of food. On Aug. 19, his mother, Nicole Maxwell, asked about his condition. By Aug. 20, the day Robert was taken to a Fort Pierce hospital and pronounced dead, the family’s private concerns had become a homicide investigation. The medical examiner later determined that the infant died from dehydration and malnutrition.
Investigators allege the messages were not isolated comments made without visible warning signs. Robert Maxwell, the baby’s grandfather, had been communicating with the child’s parents about the strain of caring for the infant and his concern that the baby was not well. In a message reported from the arrest affidavit, he complained that nobody seemed to care about the child. He also told the boy’s father that the baby was sleeping unusually often and that he believed something was wrong. Detectives say the exchanges show the family had warning of a deteriorating situation before anyone took Robert for emergency treatment.
At the center of that situation was an unusual caregiving arrangement. The infant was primarily staying with Robert Maxwell and Maxwell’s girlfriend, Vikki Koon, at a mobile home in Fort Pierce. Nicole Maxwell, the baby’s mother, was living with her boyfriend in Vero Beach and visited rather than providing the child’s daily care, investigators said. The child’s biological father, Jason Gunter, lived in Virginia. That left the infant dependent on a shifting group of adults who were communicating with one another about his condition but, according to investigators, did not secure medical intervention as his health declined.
Detectives say the lack of adequate feeding was especially important. Koon told investigators she was the person primarily feeding the child and generally did so twice a day, according to court records described in multiple reports. When formula was unavailable, investigators said she used a mixture of regular milk, water and baby cereal. Authorities contend that Robert did not receive enough food or fluids. The medical examiner’s findings later attributed his death to the resulting dehydration and malnutrition, transforming questions about daily caregiving into evidence in a homicide investigation.
The baby’s changing weight gave investigators a measurable record of his decline. At a July 24, 2025, doctor’s appointment, Robert weighed more than 11 pounds. By the time he died less than four weeks later, authorities said, he weighed about 9 pounds. Detectives described an emaciated infant whose ribs had become sharply visible. The weight history allowed investigators to compare his documented condition during a medical visit with what they encountered in August and to examine whether caregivers should have recognized that the child needed professional help.
Nicole Maxwell’s visit on the day before her son’s death is a separate point in the chronology. Investigators allege she saw that Robert was very thin, appeared sick and showed reduced awareness. Published accounts of her interview say she told detectives she wanted to obtain medical attention but left because her boyfriend was urging her to return home. Her father wanted her to remain with the baby, authorities said. That encounter is important to the case against her because investigators allege she personally observed the infant shortly before his death rather than learning about the severity of his condition afterward.
The home itself added another dimension to what the messages and medical records showed. When authorities examined the mobile home, they documented boarded windows, exposed electrical wiring and widespread cockroach activity. Investigators reported both living and dead insects inside the residence and described the property as an environmental hazard. Other children were also living there. A neighbor later told local television reporters that the conditions appeared unfit for people to live in and recalled seeing another child from the household outside seeking water. Those observations did not determine how Robert died, but they reinforced investigators’ concerns about the overall level of care in the home.
Authorities also disclosed that the family had previous involvement with the Florida Department of Children and Families. Nicole Maxwell’s other children were later in foster care, according to detectives. The public record available in news reports does not establish the full history of the agency’s contacts with the household, what allegations prompted each contact or what findings were made. Investigators have therefore focused their criminal case on the evidence collected around Robert’s final weeks rather than publicly assigning the child-welfare agency responsibility for the death.
When Robert Maxwell and Koon brought the baby to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center on Aug. 20, medical workers quickly contacted law enforcement. The child had already died, and authorities said his condition was consistent with severe neglect. Sheriff’s deputies, detectives and crime scene personnel responded to the hospital and began collecting information. Investigators then followed the evidence into the Fort Pierce home, the infant’s medical history and the family’s communications. The medical examiner eventually classified the death as homicide, a designation describing the circumstances of death rather than deciding the criminal guilt of any particular person.
For almost 11 months, there were no announced arrests. That changed on July 24, 2026, when Nicole Maxwell, 27, Robert Maxwell, 61, and Koon, 38, were taken into custody. Each was charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and aggravated child abuse. Bond was initially set at $1.5 million apiece. Detective Jennifer Diaz said publicly that the case ranked among the most disturbing she had worked in 20 years. She also indicated that the investigation was continuing, leaving open the possibility that the three arrests did not represent its final charging decision.
Eleven days later, authorities announced that Jason Gunter, 45, had been arrested in Mechanicsville, Virginia. U.S. marshals detained him on a warrant obtained by St. Lucie County detectives. He was charged with felony child neglect resulting in great harm rather than the manslaughter and aggravated-abuse counts filed against the other three defendants. Authorities said he was awaiting extradition to Florida when they announced the arrest. The sheriff’s office has not publicly provided the same detailed narrative of his alleged conduct that has emerged regarding the adults caring for the infant in Fort Pierce.
The messages between family members now serve as more than background to the case. They provide investigators with dated evidence showing when concerns were being raised, who received information and how adults responded. A text or social-media message alone does not prove criminal responsibility, and prosecutors still must connect those communications to the legal duties and alleged conduct of each defendant. But when combined with the baby’s medical records, his declining weight and statements from caregivers, the communications help prosecutors build a chronology of what family members allegedly knew before his death.
That chronology also separates the case from one in which a child suddenly became ill without warning. Investigators allege Robert’s decline occurred over weeks. They point to the drop in his weight, the family’s conversations, reports that food had run out, concerns about excessive sleeping and the condition Nicole Maxwell allegedly observed the day before he died. Defense attorneys will have the opportunity to challenge the meaning, context and legal significance of that evidence. None of the four defendants has been found guilty based on the public allegations.
The family messages leave prosecutors with a dated record of concerns that existed before Robert reached the hospital, but their legal significance has not yet been decided. The state will have to show how those communications relate to what each defendant knew, what responsibility each had for the infant and what action prosecutors contend should have followed. The four criminal cases remain unresolved, leaving the messages as evidence to be tested rather than a judicial finding about any defendant’s guilt.
Author note: Last updated Aug. 29, 2026.