Florida Deputies Take Their Own Lives: Leave Behind a 1 Month Old Son

Deputy Clayton Osteen and Deputy Victoria Pacheco took their own lives.(Ft. Lauderdale PD)
By Debra Dolan
Published: Jan. 7, 2022 at 10:08 AM CST
FORT PIERCE, Fla. (Gray News) – Two deputies from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office took their own lives, leaving behind a 1-month-old son.

According to the sheriff’s office, Deputy Clayton Osteen tried to kill himself on New Year’s Eve, shortly before midnight. He was taken to the hospital and removed from life support on Jan. 2.

Officials said Deputy Victoria Pacheco took her own life after learning of Osteen’s death.

She and Osteen were the parents of Jayce Osteen who was born Nov. 22, 2021, according to a GoFundMe fundraiser for the infant.

The fundraiser post says Jayce will be adopted by a close family member.





Jayce Osteen was born Nov. 22, 2021.(Kelly Ridle // GoFundMe)
“Words cannot express the tremendous loss we all feel after losing these two members of our sheriff’s office family,” Sheriff Ken Mascara said in a statement.

Mascara said the deputies were full of ambition and were a great complement to the department.


Osteen, a SWAT team member, was named Deputy of the Year in 2020 and had served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

“To the general public, and sometimes even myself, it’s easy to view law enforcement as superhuman … but let’s not forget that they’re human just like us,” the sheriff wrote.

Mascara said he hopes this tragedy becomes a catalyst to help ease the stigma surrounding mental health and normalize the conversation about the challenges so many people face.

Anyone struggling with thoughts of suicide is encouraged to call 211 or the National Suicide Hotline at 800-273-TALK.

first off, they made it sound like they entered into a suicide pact and thankfully had that been the case, they did not take the babe's life too.

But i see that he killed himself....look at his photo...that is not a happy man. At all. She, driven by grief, offs herself.

I'm gonna check with my son on this to see if he knows of it.

He doesn't look like a happy man at all and his eyes are vacant. Gorgeous little baby. So sad.

Beautiful mate, beautiful baby. Good looking guy..so what was he miserable over?? THAT is the story.

He was in the USMC, so he may have had PTSD.

I saw this when it first came out and I just couldn't handle it. I feel so sorry for this little guy when he grows up and understands his parents didn't consider him worth fighting/living for. Basically, they abandoned him. He'll never be able to ask them WHY. I hope whoever the close family member is, is preparing already for that day...it will be a tough day for both (or maybe all 3?) of them.

HawkTheSlayer wrote:He was in the USMC, so he may have had PTSD.

PLUS, being a cop these days is even harder with "defund the police" and the violence against someone just wearing the uniform. Can you imagine what it's like being a cop in CA, WA, OR, NY?