A woman has been accused of negligence after her 3-year-old son drowned at an El Paso, Texas, water park. Witnesses allege that the mom, Jessica Weaver, 35, was on her phone at the water park and not paying enough attention to her son. Antony Leo Malave drowned on May 13, 2023, and later died at the hospital.
According to the criminal complaint affidavit, Camp Cohen Water Park has signs that warn that children who are 6 years old or younger must be "directly attended by a swimming adult" and "must be supervised by an adult within arm's reach."
The criminal complaint affidavit includes statements from witnesses as evidence that the death of Weaver's child was due to her negligence. The witnesses claim that Weaver was not paying enough attention to her son.
However, Weaver's attorney called the arrest of Weaver a "political stunt." In June, Weaver sued the city in response to her son's death. She accused Camp Cohen Water Park of not having proper safety measures in place.
She was booked into El Paso County Jail on September 22 and released on a $100,000 surety bond, according to the El Paso Times. Her attorney believes the charges against her are "an act of vindictive retaliation" because Weaver sued the city of El Paso.
More from LittleThings: How To Keep Your Precious Pets Safe During A Hurricane Or Natural Disaster
Ryan S. MacLeod, an attorney for Weaver, made a statement after El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks held a news conference about the case on September 5. MacLeod and other attorneys representing Weaver say she should not be blamed for the death of her child.
"District Attorney Hicks also failed to mention how children tragically drown every day in this country in private pools, hotel pools, and apartment pools — where no lifeguards are on duty — and the parents are not charged with crimes," MacLeod said.
"Apparently, charges are only brought when a single mother sues a city for its negligence and gross negligence in causing her only child's death and calls out the city for destroying evidence," MacLeod continued.
Webster Vicknair MacLeod, the law firm representing Weaver, alleges that the city destroyed video evidence. The law firm has also claimed that the lifeguards on duty "had zero clue how to perform medical life-saving measures after Anthony was pulled from the pool."
The criminal complaint affidavit states that the water park had life vests available but that Weaver's son was not wearing one.
According to the same document, 18 lifeguards were working at the water park at the time. Weaver's son, who was less than 4 feet tall, was in 4-foot-deep water when the drowning happened. A lifeguard reportedly got the boy out of the water.
Hicks said the police interviewed multiple witnesses to investigate the death of Weaver's son. “It’s important to understand that the lifeguards who were there are not babysitters," Hicks said. However, Weaver's lawsuit against the city claims that she has "experienced unimaginable suffering and anguish as a result" of losing her child, and that the waterpark did not prioritize safety.
In the criminal complaint against Weaver, witnesses described her as spending time on her phone and sending her son into the water by himself. One witness said Weaver was "by herself on her phone, never looking up or paying attention to anything." Another witness said Weaver encouraged her son to go into the pool as she walked away. It took Weaver "about 5 minutes" to run over to the child after lifeguards blew their whistles and told everyone to get out of the pool, the same witness alleges.
Another witness never saw Weaver with her child and thought she was at the water park by herself. He described her as "all 'dolled up' sitting outside the pool, on her phone taking photographs the entire time he saw her." Witnesses also saw Weaver singing at the water park.
