The Florida Legislature has passed legislation called “Missy’s Law,” named in honor of a 5-year-old Tallahassee girl whose abuse-related death happened in 2025 while one of her alleged murderers was released on bail.
The Florida Senate on March 4 took up the House version of the bill (HB 445), passing it unanimously.
It next heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis. A request for comment on whether the governor had a position on the bill was pending with his press office as of March 4.
The legislation would require judges to remand defendants to custody immediately after their conviction of certain dangerous crimes rather than allow them to remain free pending sentencing, which happened in the case of Melissa “Missy” Mogle.
Missy died May 19 after she lost consciousness at her south Tallahassee home and was taken to the hospital with injuries all over her body, from burns and bruises to cuts and ligature marks.
Her tragic life story has unfolded in the pages of the Tallahassee Democrat ever since. Senior reporter Jeff Burlew investigated what led to Missy’s death, uncovering records from deep within family court files and typically confidential Department of Children and Families (DCF) investigative reports.
Her death sparked an outpouring of grief in Florida’s capital city and raised mounting questions about how the state’s child welfare system, the courts, police and others might have failed to protect her.
Her stepfather, Daniel Spencer, 35, and her mother, Chloe Spencer, 24, have been indicted on a number of charges, including first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. They face the death penalty.
At the time of her death, Daniel Spencer was free on bond following his conviction in an unrelated underage sex sting.
The legislation was first proposed by Attorney General James Uthmeier just weeks after Missy died.
A month before the girl died, her stepfather was convicted in a sex sting and allowed by a judge to remain free on bond while he awaited sentencing. He was arrested in February 2024 after chatting with an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old girl and driving to meet her at a local gas station.
While prosecutors requested that Daniel Spencer remain behind bars, Leon Circuit Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper, who presided over Spencer’s sex sting trial, explained in court that she wasn’t going to keep him locked up because he had been out of jail for a year without violations and had no violent criminal history.
There’s no indication from the record that prosecutors made Baker-Carper aware that the Tallahassee Police Department, in consultation with the State Attorney’s Office and DCF, had investigated an allegation that Daniel Spencer molested Missy less than a year before her death but didn’t pursue charges because of a lack of probable cause.
The Democrat posted online a video showing the judge asking the state to “enlighten” her if she missed something.
An initial version of the law did not include the crime of traveling to meet a minor, meaning that it would not have affected Daniel Spencer if it had been in place last year — something the Tallahassee Democrat pointed out in its coverage. The latest version includes that crime and other violations involving computer pornography and child exploitation.
DeSantis now can sign it into law, veto it or let it become law without his signature.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This story contains previously published reporting by Jeff Burlew. Jim Rosica is a member of the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jrosica@tallahassee.com. Follow him on X: @JimRosicaFL.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Legislature passes ‘Missy’s Law’ after 5-year-old’s death
Reporting by Jim Rosica, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
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