Texas mother, Jessica Weaver, 35, left three-year-old son, Anthony Leo Malave, to drown at a water park while she talked on her phone for an hour without looking up and singing along to the music, witnesses claim
- A Texas mother is accused of drowning her three-year-old son
- Seven witnesses allegedly saw how Jessica Weaver acted carelessly
- Weaver has been charged with negligent injury to a child in her son’s death
A Texas mother has been accused of allowing her three-year-old son to drown at a water park while she allegedly “looked at her phone and sang along to music for hours,” witnesses told police.
Anthony Leo Malave, 3, died May 13 after he was found unconscious in a four-foot pool at Camp Cohen Water Park, in El Paso, Texas.
The boy’s mother, Jessica Weaver, 35, has been charged with negligence and was arrested in connection with the Aug. 30 drowning and charged with injury to a child by negligence.
Seven witnesses revealed the shocking behavior of a woman matching Weaver’s description on the day Anthony died.
They detailed the careless and avoidable nature of the incident in a police report obtained by KFOX.
Jessica Weaver, 35, has been charged with negligence and was arrested in connection with the Aug. 30 drowning and charged with injury to a child by negligence
Seven witnesses at El Paso Camp Cohen Water Park (pictured) revealed the shocking behavior of a woman matching Weaver’s description on the day Anthony died
Witness one said: ‘A woman matching Weaver’s description was on the phone for over an hour and sitting outside a swimming pool.’
They added that the person “never looked up or paid attention to anything.”
Two witnesses said they saw the boy without his mother, adding that they “saw Weaver lying down and singing along to her phone for approximately seven minutes before the toddler was pulled from the water.”
Two witnesses said they saw Anthony unattended – adding that they “saw Weaver lying down and singing along to her phone for approximately seven minutes before the toddler was pulled from the water.”
Another said: ‘A woman matching Weaver’s description that day encouraged the toddler to enter the pool before walking away and leaving the boy alone.’
The same witness also said that “it took Weaver five minutes to run to the pool after the lifeguards blew the whistle so everyone could get out.”
As the devastating drowning unfolded, a witness told police they believed “Weaver was alone at the water park” because they did not see her with a child.
“Weaver did not immediately react to the situation and was surprised to learn that she was the mother of the child who drowned when Weaver jumped into the water.”
More damning allegations were made against the Texas mother, with one witness claiming they saw two three-year-olds swimming ‘unsupervised and without a life jacket’, before noting that the life jackets were free for everyone to use.
Weaver’s apathetic parenting style was also called into question by a witness who claimed her son had spit “chips” into the pool but was too busy on her phone to care or realize.
Weaver’s apathetic parenting style was also questioned by a witness who claimed her son had spit “chips” into the pool but was too busy on her phone to care or realize
Despite the scathing description of Weaver’s flawed parenting, images of Anthony show the beaming toddler in photos that have emerged in the aftermath of the tragedy
Weaver’s legal counsel Ryan MacLeod claims this is just a witch hunt after the Texas mom took her own legal action against the city.
According to the arrest report, this last witness called police and filed a report about Weaver’s apparent lack of concern for her child while she was at the water park that day.
The police document also states that the capacity of the water park is 1,460 and that there were approximately only 466 people present that day and that life jackets were available.
Weaver’s legal counsel Ryan MacLeod previously dodged blame, saying the city was “more concerned with filling the park for a soft opening than safety.” Fox news reported.
A news conference with El Paso District Attorney Bill Hick was called a “political stunt” by MacLeod when he said, “A lifeguard is not a babysitter.”
“They are a last resort to hopefully save a life,” Hick’s said at a news conference at the time of the arrest.
MacLeod believes the city is taking legal action against Weaver for filing a lawsuit against the city and said the district attorney should file charges against the 17 lifeguards who were on duty that day.
DailyMail.com reached out to MacLeod and the district attorney’s office for comment but did not immediately respond.