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BRONX, NEW YORK CITY: A Bronx mother has been accused of letting her seven-year-old child drown in a hotel pool as she ate at a bar and drank cocktails, according to prosecutors. She also left her five-month-old baby in the room alone while she downed drinks.
In connection to the tragic incident that took place at a Marriott Hotel in Melville on January 13, 2022, Erica Baez was taken into custody and has been held without bail on charges of second-degree manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child. The young girl Katlyn who spend more than a year on life following the incident died on May 1, said Suffolk County prosecutors, reported New York Post.
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Baez ignored hotel staff warning her that she had to stay with her child
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, the arrested woman stayed at the hotel with her boyfriend, seven-year-old daughter, and her five-month-old son. On the day of the tragedy, her boyfriend left for work in the morning, and later at 3.30 pm, she asked hotel staff to open the pool indoors. The workers warned her that she will have to with her daughter as no lifeguard was on duty.
However, Baez left her son alone in the hotel room and her daughter play in the pool for half an hour while their mother headed to the hotel bar. She then went for a second cocktail and half an hour later she returned to find Katlyn "floating lifeless in the pool," the DA's office stated.
Baez lied to investigators
After Baez saw her daughter drowning, she did not jump straight into the pool as she took time put her phone aside and take off her socks and shoes. Baez then lied to emergency workers who arrived at the scene saying she left the child only for five minutes. The EMTs managed to revive Katlyn after their arrived. However, the young girl was forced to live on a ventilator after she lacked oxygen and suffered irreversible brain damage, said prosecutors.
Katlyn who eventually became septic, died on May 1, 2023. The victim's mother who was arrested on May 15 pleaded not guilty to the charges. "The alleged actions of this defendant were selfish, senseless, and heartless. We are going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is served for little Katlyn, whose short life ended too soon," stated District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
