A woman in Florida has been arrested after her four-year-old daughter drowned during a pool party while she drank beer and used her phone, according to police. Rosette Pierrecius, 32, faces a charge of child neglect causing great bodily harm in connection with the child's death at the Kendall Ridge Apartment complex in Bradenton.
Police said Pierrecius was attending an after-hours neighbourhood party on Saturday night, despite not being a resident of the complex. Surveillance footage allegedly shows the child entering the pool at 8:52pm without her mother noticing, and becoming submerged about three minutes later. Another adult spotted the child underwater and pulled her out at approximately 9:04pm, meaning she had been underwater for about nine minutes.
No one was performing CPR when officers arrived three minutes after a 911 call, and they began resuscitation. The girl was taken to hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. Pierrecius was arrested early on Mother's Day.
She allegedly told investigators she had left her daughter under the supervision of two older children while she went to the bathroom. However, police said surveillance video contradicted this account, showing her walking around the pool deck and using her phone while the child was in the water. Officers reported that Pierrecius admitted drinking six beers, and a later blood alcohol test recorded a level of 0.124 percent.
Bradenton Assistant Chief of Police Brian Thiers said: “This case is a heartbreaking tragedy that has deeply affected our community. While nothing can take away from the loss of a child, we have a responsibility to hold individuals accountable when negligence puts innocent lives at risk. And in this scenario, the negligence resulted in the loss of a child's life.” Pierrecius is being detained while the State Attorney's Office reviews the case, and she is scheduled to be arraigned on June 26.
