A two-year-old girl tragically lost her life after falling from an 11th-floor apartment in Santiago, Chile, while her father was reportedly unconscious due to excessive alcohol consumption. The incident has led to the father being charged with homicide by omission.
Details of the Incident
Young Isidora Constanzo died while under the supervision of her father, Jorge José Francisco Constanzo Chávez, during a court-approved visit. According to reports, Constanzo Chávez had been drinking heavily the previous evening and continued consuming alcohol during lunch on the day of the tragedy. He had returned home at around 6 am on Sunday, May 18, after a night of celebration, and then picked up his daughter from his former partner's residence for a scheduled access visit from 10 am to 6 pm, arriving almost an hour late.
After sharing lunch with his girlfriend and daughter, during which he drank more alcohol, the father and his partner fell into a deep sleep at their apartment, leaving little Isidora unsupervised. The toddler fell from an unprotected bedroom window that had been left ajar. A resident heard a "particular impact" at approximately 5:10 pm and discovered the child lying motionless in the car park below.
Paramedics arrived promptly, but Isidora was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:23 pm due to fatal injuries from the fall.
Investigation and Charges
Authorities faced difficulties in determining the exact apartment from which the child had fallen, as she was not a resident of the building. They conducted a comprehensive floor-by-floor search of the entire block to locate the source. Eventually, they roused the father, who appeared visibly intoxicated, about 40 minutes after the tragedy.
Prosecutors have charged Constanzo Chávez with homicide by omission, alleging severe negligence. The window lacked essential safety features that had reportedly been agreed upon with the mother. The father had neglected to secure the window despite being aware of the dangers. The custody arrangement explicitly required the father to install a safety net, a condition he had accepted during family court mediation.
Prosecutor Pamela Valdés told the court that the dangers were "avoidable" and that the father "should have left the window closed with the latch." She noted that the window's design made it impossible for the toddler to open it on her own.
Legal Proceedings
The father was initially held for identification alongside his partner before his formal arrest. Following a court appearance, he was placed in preventive custody. Isidora's mother, Gloria Ortiz, expressed her heartbreak over the tragedy, stating that no parent should ever have to bury their child.
Police have confirmed they will investigate the level of alcohol consumed during the party that allegedly started on Saturday evening and continued into Sunday.
