A mother left her 3-year-old son to drown at a Texas water park while he “spent hours looking at his phone and singing along to music,” authorities said — but his attorney claimed the negligent lifeguard was at fault.
Jessica Weaver, 35, is accused of negligence and alleged injury to a child for being behind in the death of her only child, Anthony Leo Malave, at Camp Cohen Water Park in El Paso.
Several witnesses described Weaver as recklessly negligent before her son drowned during a “soft opening” of the city-owned park in May, the El Paso Times reported, citing a criminal complaint.
The mother was arrested on August 30 in her native Indiana, where she waived extradition. He was booked into the El Paso County Jail on Sept. 22 and released on a $100,000 surety bond, according to the news outlet.
One of 18 lifeguards working at the park pulled Anthony out of a 4-foot-deep section of the pool where he was drowning, documents cited by the El Paso Times said.
The child was not wearing a life jacket, although the device is available to guests at the facility, according to the newspaper.
Jessica Weaver, 35, allegedly neglected her son, Anthony Leo Malave, 3, before she drowned at a Texas water park. with a lag. Jessica WeaverLittle Anthony Leo Malave was not wearing a life jacket when he drowned in the park.Jessica Weaver
A sign at Camp Cohen states that children 6 and under “must be directly attended by a swimming adult” at all times and “must be supervised by an adult within arm’s reach.”
Investigators spoke with several witnesses the day of the crash, according to El Paso DA Bill Hicks.
A witness said a woman matching Weaver’s description “never looked up or paid attention to anything” as she was glued to her phone by the pool for more than an hour.
Another witness said the woman — who he believed was alone — was taking pictures the entire time he saw her at the pool, according to the affidavit.
A third person saw “the mother singing along to the song that was playing and she was lying down, looking at her phone about seven minutes before the child/victim was pulled out of the water,” the document states.
The child died at Camp Cohen Water Park in El Paso.El Paso Water Park
Another said the woman “encouraged the child into the pool before walking away and leaving the boy alone.”
The same witness later heard that a boy was found underwater and it took “about five minutes” for the woman to run to the child after everyone was told to get out of the pool.
Hicks told reporters that Weaver was charged because she did not pay enough attention to her son.
“A rescuer is not a babysitter. They are the last resort to save lives,” the DA said, KFOX-TV reported.
Anthony Leo Malave, 3, should have been supervised by an adult.Jessica Weaver
But Weaver’s attorney claims he has been unfairly blamed for Anthony’s death — and has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the city in which he claims the tragedy was the result of “gross negligence” by the park and its lifeguards.
One of the attorneys, Ryan MacLeod, described Hicks’ Sept. 5 press conference as a political stunt.
He claims that the charges against his client are in retaliation for a wrongful-death lawsuit, which also names ASM Global, the entertainment company hired to operate the camp.
MacLeod said neither he nor his client knew Hicks would pursue criminal charges until authorities went to his home in Indiana and claimed he was a “fugitive from justice.”
The lawsuit alleges the city of El Paso showed a lack of concern by not requiring experience for candidates seeking lifeguard jobs, KFOX reported.
It also claimed that the city destroyed surveillance video of the drowning.
Anthony and his mother, Jessica, in an undated photo.Jessica Weaver
Hicks has responded that the lawsuit has nothing to do with the criminal prosecution.
“Every infant death is reviewed,” the DA said, adding that each case is investigated by prosecutors in cooperation with the police and prosecutions are handled on a case-by-case basis.
“I’m not going to bait myself into going back and forth with a civil attorney,” Hicks said. “This is a criminal proceeding. It’s the state of Texas vs. Ms. Weaver. I have nothing to say to him.”
The Post has reached out to ASM Global for comment.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
