Swimming and pool parties will be part of many families’ summer plans. Spending time in the water is a core memory for plenty of adults, and they love sharing the experience with their kids. Even the best swimmers should never enter a pool or body of water alone. Parents have to always keep an eye on their children to ensure everyone’s safety. Florida mother Rosette Pierrecius apparently missed that memo. Her 4-year-old daughter drowned on May 9, 2026, in what police claim was a totally avoidable death.
Police arrived in just a few minutes.
According to a release from the Bradenton Police Department, dispatchers received a call about an emergency at the Kendall Ridge Apartment Complex at 9:10 p.m. Officers arrived within three minutes and began CPR on the unresponsive 4-year-old girl. Emergency crews rushed her to a hospital, where doctors declared her deceased. Investigators began talking to witnesses at the scene to piece together what happened to the child.
The mother’s story reportedly didn’t match the video from the scene.
Pierrecius allegedly told police she left her daughter in the care of older children at the pool, according to an arrest report obtained by WFLA. The mother claimed she went inside to use the bathroom and asked two children, ages 8 to 10, to watch the little girl. Video surveillance reportedly shows Pierrecius walking away, but she never spoke to the children. The little girl entered the pool using the steps.
The child apparently did not know how to swim.
According to the police report, multiple adults were in the pool area when the little girl entered the water. A time-stamped video shows her getting in the pool at 8:55 p.m. Pierrecius allegedly looked at her phone and didn’t notice her child, who couldn’t swim, sink to the bottom of the pool. It took nine minutes before anyone realized the girl had drowned.
Police said the drowning never should have happened.
Meredith Censullo, Bradenton Police Department’s public information officer, told ABC 7 the child never should have died the way she did. “I’m very comfortable saying that this party shouldn’t have happened there in the first place,” Censullo said.
WFLA reported that Pierrecius told police she had six beers during the party. A breathalyzer test several hours later registered a blood alcohol level of 0.124.
“It was not a party that was meant for children. It was primarily adults that were there,” Censullo said. “This went beyond an accidental drowning to the point of neglect,” she added. Pierrecius faces a charge of child neglect resulting in great bodily injury.
How many times do we have to say that kids, pools, and alcohol just don’t mix? If you can’t enjoy a pool party without the booze, keep innocent kids away. They deserve better.
