Bradenton mother was intoxicated when her 4-year-old drowned, police say
A Bradenton mother charged after her 4-year-old daughter drowned at a pool party was allegedly intoxicated and looking at her cellphone while the child drowned to death, investigators say.
Rosette Pierrecius, 32, faces a charge of child neglect causing great bodily harm after investigators say her daughter slipped beneath the water Saturday night at the Kendall Ridge Apartment Homes pool, 302 26th Ave. W., Bradenton. The girl was later pronounced dead at a hospital, according to the Bradenton Police Department.
A newly released arrest report details why investigators charged Pierrecius after the drowning, citing surveillance video, conflicting statements and evidence she was under the influence during the party.
“This case is a heartbreaking tragedy that has deeply affected our community,” Assistant Chief Brian Thiers told the Bradenton Herald on Tuesday. “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.”
Police say Pierrecius, her daughter and other family members were attending a large birthday pool party at the apartment complex Saturday night. Investigators later learned the pool was closed at the time of the gathering.
According to investigators, surveillance footage showed the child entered the pool through the steps at 8:52 p.m. without Pierrecius noticing. Three minutes later, the girl moved into deeper water and disappeared beneath the water, according to the arrest report.
Bradenton mothr arrested after child’s drowning death
Investigators say the child remained underwater for nine minutes before another adult at the party discovered her at the bottom of the pool and pulled her out.
Bradenton police spokesperson Meredith Censullo said “despite numerous people being present, just feet from the child, no one was paying attention to her.”
Officers were dispatched to the apartment complex at 9:10 p.m. and began performing CPR before emergency crews took the child to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 10:08 p.m., police said.
Police said Pierrecius initially told officers she wrapped the girl in a towel, left her sitting in a lounge chair near the pool and asked two children between the ages of 8 and 10 to watch her while she went to the bathroom. Investigators said Pierrecius later told them the bathroom was locked, prompting her to return to the pool area and begin searching for her daughter.
But investigators say surveillance footage contradicted that account and instead showed Pierrecius spending several minutes looking at her cellphone after returning to the pool area before realizing the child was missing. The footage also showed her walking around the pool deck while numerous adults and children were nearby, according to investigators.
Pierrecius later admitted she did not ask any adult to watch her daughter, according to police.
Investigators also said Pierrecius told officers she never taught the child how to swim and knew she could not stay afloat on her own.
According to the arrest report, Pierrecius admitted to drinking six Corona beers during the party. A preliminary breath test administered about two to three hours after the drowning showed a blood alcohol content of .124, investigators wrote.
Pierrecius was arrested Sunday morning and booked into the Manatee County Jail, where records show she remains in custody on a $5,000 bond.
She is scheduled to be arraigned June 26 before Circuit Judge Teri K. Dees.
Under Florida law, child neglect causing death is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
