In the late summer of 2019, the life of 18-month-old Enzo McCormack, a male toddler from Blount County, Alabama, came to a tragic and violent end. On September 6, 2019, while under the care of his mother's boyfriend, Robert Keith Elmore Jr., Enzo sustained horrific injuries. Elmore sent a text message to the child's mother, Samantha McCormack, stating that Enzo 'ain't breathing rite … he is limp … and almost blue.'
Despite this alarming message, neither of them immediately sought emergency medical help.
Later that evening, Samantha McCormack began driving toward the hospital. However, on the way, she made a stop at a hardware store in Locust Fork to purchase cigarettes and gasoline. At the store, a relative of Elmore's who worked there went to check on the child in the car and found him limp, cold to the touch, and unresponsive. It was this family member who finally called 911. First responders found Enzo in respiratory distress, his face blue and his body already cold. He was airlifted to Children's of Alabama hospital in Birmingham.
At the hospital, the full extent of Enzo's injuries became devastatingly clear. Doctors determined he had suffered severe blunt force trauma to the head and injuries consistent with being violently shaken. He had a skull fracture and numerous retinal hemorrhages. The medical team concluded that his injuries were not accidental but intentionally inflicted by an adult. Enzo was placed on a ventilator, but his brain showed no activity. Three days later, on September 9, 2019, he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into Enzo's death led to the arrest of both his mother, Samantha McCormack, and her boyfriend, Robert Keith Elmore Jr. Elmore initially claimed he had accidentally dropped the child after Enzo pulled his chest hair. However, the forensic evidence told a much different story of severe abuse. It was also revealed that a court order had been in place prohibiting Elmore from being around the children due to previous instances of abuse. In October 2023, a Blount County jury convicted Elmore of capital murder for Enzo's death and aggravated child abuse of Enzo's brother. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In July 2024, Samantha McCormack pleaded guilty to felony murder for her role in her son's death, having left him in the care of a known abuser. She was sentenced to serve 25 years in a state correctional facility.
