Mother of the Year Candidate > Baby neglected, daughter drowns alone in pool, Mom drinks at bar

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This year's Mother of the Year so far belongs to Paraguay's Aurelia Salinas, who sold her 3-year-old daughter to be raped and murdered in a trade for crack cocaine. But, I think New York's Erica Baez should come under some consideration.

Bronx girl, 7, drowns in hotel pool while 5-month-old left alone in room

as mom drank at bar: prosecutors

By Larry Celona and Priscilla DeGregory

May 16, 2023 4:13pm  Updated

A Bronx mom allegedly let her 7-year-old daughter drown in a hotel pool — while leaving her 5-month-old baby in the room alone — as she downed drinks at the bar, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Erica Baez, 41, is now being held without bail on second-degree manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child charges in the Jan. 13, 2022 horror at a Marriott Hotel in Melville.

The tragic girl, Katlyn, died May 1 after spending more than a year on life support, Suffolk County prosecutors said.

Baez had been staying at the hotel with her boyfriend, her 5-month-old son and Katlyn when the boyfriend left for work early that day, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said.

The mom had asked hotel staff to open the indoor pool around 3:30 p.m. — with workers warning her that no lifeguard was on duty and that she’d have to stay with her child, the DA’s office said.

But Baez instead headed to the hotel bar where she ate and drank an alcoholic cocktail while her daughter played alone in the pool for 30 minutes, prosecutors claimed.

The mother went to check on the child but then left her alone again while she went up to the hotel room to see her infant, who was also alone, the DA’s office claimed.

Baez went for a second cocktail and left the daughter for over 30 minutes before returning to the pool to find the girl “floating lifeless in the pool” the office alleged.

Erica Baez was charged with manslaughter after her 7-year-old daughter died after drowning in a Melville Marriott pool (pictured here) while her mother allegedly drank.

But instead of jumping straight in, Baez took time to take off her shoes and socks and put her phone aside before taking Katlyn out of the water, prosecutors said.

When EMS workers arrived, Baez lied telling them she’d only left the girl for five minutes, the DA’s office said.

The EMTs were able to revive the girl but she was left with irreversible brain damage from the lack of oxygen and was forced to live on a ventilator and feeding tube for two months, prosecutors said.

Marriott hotel in Melville, New York.

The little girl died on May 1 after she became septic, the office said.

Baez was arrested on May 15 and charged with second-degree manslaughter and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. She pleaded not guilty in court on Tuesday.

“The alleged actions of this defendant were selfish, senseless and heartless,” District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement. “We are going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is served for little Katlyn, whose short life ended too soon.”

Baez is due back in court on May 24.

Toronto Hotel Stabbing Leaves 12-year-old Boy Dead

A 12-year-old boy died in a downtown Toronto trauma centre after a stabbing
early Wednesday at a Toronto hotel. Police have a man in custody.
(Tony Smyth/CBC)

A man is in custody after 12-year-old boy was stabbed at a downtown Toronto hotel and later died.

Police were called to the Cambridge Suites Hotel, near the intersection of Richmond Street East and Victoria Street, just before 6 a.m. ET Wednesday.

They found the boy in life-threatening condition on the eighth floor of the highrise tower. He died in a trauma centre.

Police would not say whether he was stabbed inside a room at the hotel or in a hallway.

Hawaiian tourist Edwin Baldelomar, who is staying at the hotel, said police were canvassing the building.

"They asked me, 'Did you hear any commotion?'" he said. "It's a sad story. I just can't believe what happened."

It's not immediately known if any charges will be laid, and police would not comment on whether the man in custody and the boy are related.

Homicide Det. Omar Khan would only say there is no ongoing threat to public safety.

"We believe we have all the persons involved accounted for."

CBC News reporters are at the scene and will provide new information as soon as it becomes available.

Police are expected to provide an update on the ongoing investigation later today.

My first thoughts on reading this story was to remember yesterday's blog-post on child sex trafficking, and the 14 year old girl who wondered around a motel for days while not a soul asked her if she needed help.

It should become clear over the next few days whether this was a case of child sex trafficking, pedophilia, or something else completely. 

Manitoba's Child Care System is Under Fire As Another Teen Fights for Her Life

Winnipeg police at scene of beating

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

A 15-year-old boy has been charged in the vicious beating of a teen girl in downtown Winnipeg near a hotel where both were living in the care of children's services.

Police said the boy has been charged with aggravated assault and aggravated sexual assault.

The girl, who is also 15, remains in critical condition as a result of the attack, which happened on Hargrave Street. She was found early Wednesday morning.

Const. Chris Wingfield with the Winnipeg Police Service said he doesn't know if the girl will survive.

Please pray for this girl to survive and to get the help she needs.

He said the suspect and victim were known to each other.

"It's my understanding that they were walking around together downtown and some kind of argument ensued between the two of them."

A handbag, wallet and makeup are seen in a cordoned-off area on Hargrave Street
where a teenage girl was found critically injured early Wednesday morning. (CBC)

Both the girl and the boy are in care of the province's Child and Family Services (CFS) system and were being housed at the same hotel not far from where the girl was found, police said.

The boy, who is now in custody at the Manitoba Youth Centre, was the one who flagged officers down for help, claiming to be a passerby who found the girl.

After questioning him, officers became suspicious of his story and pressed him further, which led to the arrest.

No other charges are expected, although the boy's charges would be upgraded if the girl does not survive, police said.

CBC News has talked to another teen who met the victim Tuesday evening and said she appeared to have been drinking and was with a group of friends when she left her hotel.

Tina Fontaine had been staying in same hotel

Last fall, CBC News did a series of stories about the troubles of teens in government care staying in hotels.

That followed the death in August, 2014, of Tina Fontaine, another 15-year-old girl who was in CFS care and had been staying in the same downtown hotel as Wednesday's beating victim.

Fontaine's body was pulled from the Red River on Aug. 17, wrapped in a bag.

Tina Fontaine, 15, found in bag in Red River

A week earlier, Fontaine was taken to hospital by ambulance after she was found passed out in a back lane. She was later returned to the hotel but was allowed to leave once again. She was reported missing the next day and not seen again until her body was found.

Police are treating her death as a homicide, but no arrests have been made to date.

Hours after news of the assault on Wednesday, Manitoba's Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross vowed, through tears and sobs, to end the practice of placing children in care in hotels by June 1.

Manitoba has about 10,000 children in care and on any given day, dozens are put up in hotel rooms because there aren't enough foster care homes.

Tina Fontaine memorial by Red River