Family member to adopt baby orphaned by suicides of Florida deputies

The infant son of two Florida cops who took their own lives last week will be adopted by a family member.

Clayton Osteen and Victoria Pacheco of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office left behind 1-month-old son Jayce Osteen when they killed themselves several days apart from one another, police said.

A friend who started a GoFundMe page for Jayce revealed that a relative had stepped in to raise the newborn baby.

“A close family member will be adopting Jayce,” Kelly Ridle wrote. “All donations will be used for enriching Jayce’s life experiences and securing a brighter future.”

About $95,000 worth of donations had been collected for the baby boy by Saturday night.

Osteen, 24, a former Marine, attempted suicide on Dec. 31 and was taken off life support on Sunday. Pacheco, 23, killed herself “in the wake of Deputy Osteen’s death,” Sheriff Ken Mascara said in a statement on Tuesday.

“As sheriff, I saw these two deputies as young, ambitious, and a great compliment to my already amazing group of professionals,” Mascara said.

“While it is impossible for us to fully comprehend the private circumstances leading up to this devastating loss, we pray that this tragedy becomes a catalyst for change, a catalyst to help ease the stigma surrounding well-being and normalize the conversation about the challenges so many of us face on a regular basis.”

Both of the late deputies, who a distraught family member compared to “Romeo and Juliet,” had been honored for saving other people’s lives in their relatively brief stints on the force.

Funeral services with military honors were held for the couple Saturday, according to Haisley Funeral Home in Fort Pierce, and pictures shared to the fundraising site.