If you visit the “Justice for Zale and Saxon” page on Facebook, you can find videos of the two children laughing, playing and feeding cows at their Florida home.
Sadly, they aren’t able to anymore. As the page explains, both children died tragically in April 2021 while using scuba gear in a backyard pool at the house of their father’s friend. Now, their mother, 46-year-old Suzie Dudas, is calling on Martin County State’s Attorney, Thomas Bakkedahl, and Martin County Sheriff, William Snyder, to reopen the investigation into the deaths, per a Change.org petition created this August.
According to a May 2022 report from WPTV, the state’s attorney’s office said “it was determined that the State could not, in good faith, seek criminal charges in this heartbreakingly tragic event. Stated quite simply, the law and the facts prohibit a criminal prosecution in this instance.”
In the online petition, Dudas said that Zale (age 9) and Saxon (age 7) “tragically lost their lives in a swimming pool while under the care of their father, Rodney Nairne, and his friend Marty Watson,” who she said are professional scuba divers. Dudas also said that they allowed the children to play unsupervised and that the scuba tanks they were using were filled with 100% helium.
“A mix of helium and oxygen is used by deep-sea divers,” according to The Independent.
Their father saw the children at the bottom of the pool and pulled them out to perform CPR, said the outlet. He called Dudas, who rushed to the hospital. Efforts to resuscitate Zale and Saxon failed.
Per the description section on the “Justice for Zale and Saxon” Facebook page, Dudas was raising the two children in Jupiter, Fla. It also said that Dudas and the children’s father separated in 2020.
“Zale was a sharp, energetic, brutally honest 9-year-old girl,” said Facebook page. “Saxon was a 7-year-old fearless adventure seeker with a huge heart.”
While the page said that both children were “good swimmers” it also said that they were too young to legally scuba dive. It said the circumstances of the children’s death is “appalling.”
Dudas appears in a video posted to the Facebook page. Eventually tears began streaming down her face as she talks about the incident.
“Somebody asked me, why now, and I think my answer is – I’ve put my trust in detectives to do their job and the state to do their job and lawyers to do their job,” Dudas said. “And, I’ve never had a voice. I’ve lost my kids, I’m losing my farm. It means I’m losing my occupation too. What do I have left to lose? So, help be my voice. I want justice for my kids. Help me get justice for my kids.”
She has also established a GoFundMe page to help raise money for her farm.
There, she explained that she started a non-profit farm project called Nourishing Food for Thought in 2017. She runs summer camps and educational programs there.
“Unfortunately, my ex-husband is now pressing to use his share of the property to force me to sell,” Dudas said. I will lose the home I shared with my children as well as my nonprofit. I am attempting to appear in court with an offer to buy him out, but he is accelerating the timetable. Donations will go toward my purchase of the land to continue and expand the nonprofit in the name of my kids.”
As of Tuesday, $35,000 had been raised towards a $800,000 goal.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more children ages 1 to 4 die from drowning than any other cause of death and drowning is the second leading cause of death for children ages 5 to 14.