The Miami Herald was unsuccessful in reaching the couple for comment.

Jeremy's lawyer, Steven Melnick, said Jeremy's home life has no bearing on the tragedy.

``I don't think that's relevant for Jeremy what the sins of the father may have been,'' Melnick said.

In the Oct. 12 attack, Denver Colorado III doused the victim with rubbing alcohol, while the boy's younger brother did nothing, according to police.

VIOLENT THREATS

In January 2008, with police lights in her rearview mirror, Patricia Hollis raced her car across a parking lot, barreled through busy intersections, ran red lights, blew stop signs and sped down one-way roads the wrong way. All the while, reaching speeds of up to 100 mph.

When she was finally stopped, Lake Worth police found that her 10-year-old son was a passenger in the car. She was arrested and taken to jail, and the police notified state welfare authorities about her son.

She was ordered to do 50 hours of community service and to undergo random drug-testing.

It was not Hollis' first run-in with the law.

Hollis, 41, has been arrested nine times; his father, Steven Shelton, 40, 12 times.

Between 1999 and 2008, Hollis, in fact, pleaded guilty to resisting arrest,child abuse, fleeing and eluding, and was arrested for shoplifting, fraud, impersonation and child cruelty.

In one incident, a Palm Beach County sheriff pulled Hollis over and found she was fighting with Shelton. Shelton, who used the alias Michael Right, told the sheriff that Hollis had a box cutter and threatened to cut him, saying that she told him she would ``f---'' him up with it, the report said.

She was arrested for aggravated assault, but a month later the charge was dropped because authorities felt they could not prove their case based solely on their conversations with Shelton.

Shelton's records show he has pleaded guilty to intent to do violence, distributing marijuana, felony resisting arrest and battery. He was sentenced to two years in jail and five years' probation in connection with the offenses.

As a couple, Hollis and Shelton's father have fought for five years over whether he is the legal father of her son, Steven Shelton. He was eventually ordered to pay $63 a week in child support. In 2005, he was held in contempt for failing to pay.

Hollis declined to comment for this story, and The Miami Herald was unable to reach Steven Shelton.

Like Jeremy Jarvis, authorities contend that Steven Shelton did not try to stop the other boys from carrying out the attack on Brewer.

PARENTAL SPLIT

Jesus Mendez had been deeply unhappy in recent months as his parents underwent a bitter, angry split, according to a source close to the family.

As the parents separated, and the family fell apart, Mendez felt that his father was no longer a part of his life.

Following the separation, Mendez's mom moved from Wellington to Broward, partly to insulate the boy from a bad crowd.

His parents, Jesus Mendez Sr., and Yolanda Mendez, appear to have no criminal records. The Miami Herald was unable to reach either parent.

Little else is known about the younger Mendez, except that he was arrested for first-degree misdemeanor battery in 2007. Because it's a juvenile record, the disposition of the case is sealed.

Mendez, who is charged with attempted second-degree murder, confessed to police that he put a lighter to Brewer after Denver Jarvis doused the boy with the alcohol.

THE CHARGES

Schneider has yet to decide what charges will be prosecuted against the suspects, though she told the Sun Sentinel on Friday that 13-year-old Jeremy Jarvis is too young to be prosecuted as an adult under Florida law. The fate of the others rests with the juvenile court system or the adult criminal system, which could deal them harsher punishment.

All five boys will be eligible for release from juvenile detention on Nov. 3. No trial date has been set.

Miami Herald researchers Monika Leal and Rachael Coleman contributed to this story, as did freelance writer Lori Rozsa.