Two Florida parents have been arrested after their autistic child wandered off and drowned in a holding pool at their apartment complex, police said. It was at least the fourth time the child had left the residence alone.
Officials said the boy’s parents, Barbara Ruiz and Lester Ortiz, had red eyes and smelled of “fresh marijuana” when they arrived on the scene after Ortiz reported their son missing about 30 minutes earlier. Both parents face aggravated murder charges.
Police also noticed the entire house had a “strong smell of freshly smoked marijuana” as they searched for the boy, Ethan Ortiz Ruiz, 3, whose body was found floating in a pond directly behind their apartment about 20 minutes later.
He was taken to Lake Monroe Hospital in Sanford where he was pronounced dead.
According to police, Ethan had left the apartment without his parents noticing at least three more times. Two of those times he was brought to the front office by a helpful neighbor who saw the youngster walking around the apartment complex unsupervised.
On a third occasion in March, a member of the apartment complex’s management staff called the police after seeing Ethan again outside alone. Ortiz told officers he had fallen asleep without realizing the boy was gone.
Police said during a visit to the apartment they saw the boy was able to open the front door on his own, although additional security measures had been installed to prevent him from doing so. Police then contacted Seminole County Child Protective Services to advise they were sending an investigator to follow up.
Lester Ortiz, 39, and Barbara Ruiz, 37, have been charged with aggravated manslaughter after their three-year-old left their apartment and drowned in their backyard retention pond.
After speaking with the parents on Saturday, police charged the two with aggravated murder of a child. If convicted, Ruiz and Ortiz could face up to life in prison.
Ortiz, who police also described as “sweating profusely,” was taken to the hospital for health concerns. Ruiz was taken into custody and transported to the John E. Polk Correctional Facility without incident. Both are being held on $25,000 bond.
Both Ortiz and Ruiz told police they had government-issued medical marijuana cards and said they smoked them “regularly.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
