Bronx mom arrested for manslaughter after daughter, 7, drowned in pool while she drank
Bronx mom is arrested for manslaughter after seven-year-old drowned in pool while drinking at bar
- Erica Baez, 41, is being held without bail for second-degree manslaughter and endangering a child’s welfare
- The mother-of-two allegedly left her other child, a five-month-old baby, alone in the room while she reportedly drank at the bar
- The 7-year-old girl named Katlyn spent more than a year on life support before she passed away on May 1
A mother-of-two from the Bronx has been arrested for manslaughter in the alleged death of her seven-year-old daughter who drowned in the hotel pool while drinking at the hotel bar.
Erica Baez, 41, was charged with second-degree manslaughter and two counts of endangering the well-being of a child. The horrific incident took place at the Marriott hotel in Melville, Long Island on January 13, 2022.
Baez’s young daughter, named Katlyn, was on a ventilator for the past year but died May 1 after becoming septic, a report said.
Baez pleaded not guilty in court on Tuesday.
Prosecutors said she left her other child, a 5-month-old, alone in the room when she entered the hotel bar.
The Marriott in Melville, Long Island, is where the tragedy of January 13, 2022 took place
District Attorney Raymond Tierney called Baez’s alleged actions “selfish, senseless and callous” in a statement. “We are going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is served for little Katlyn, whose short life ended too soon,” he said.
Baez is due back in court on May 24.
Baez had been a guest at the hotel with her boyfriend, her young son, and Katlyn. According to the Suffolk County District Attorney, her boyfriend was at work at the time of the tragedy.
At around 3:30 p.m., Baez had asked hotel staff to open the indoor pool despite being told by hotel staff that there was no lifeguard on duty. The New York Post reported.
They also told her that if her daughter wants to enter the pool, she must stay with her.
Prosecutors alleged that Baez went to the bar for food and drinks and was there for at least 30 minutes while her daughter played alone in the pool.
Baez then made her rounds. First, she checked on her daughter, then went to the hotel room to check on her infant son, who was also alone, the prosecutor’s office claimed.
She returned to the bar for a second cocktail and again left the daughter for more than 30 minutes, only this time when she went to check on her daughter for a second time, she was found “floating lifeless,” the office claimed.
Baez went for a second cocktail and left the daughter for more than 30 minutes before returning to the pool to find the girl lifeless in the pool, the office claimed.