A Texas mum has been charged with negligence after her son drowned at a water park, and now police documents have revealed what witnesses saw on the day of the tragedy.
Three-year-old Anthony Leo Malave was found unresponsive in a four-foot deep pool at Camp Cohen Water Park in El Paso, Texas on 12 May.
His mother Jessica Weaver, 35, originally blamed the water park for her son's death, calling the lifeguards' response 'a slow train wreck' and ultimately filed a $1 million negligence lawsuit against the City of El Paso.
However, on 22 September Weaver was arrested and charged with injury to a child by omission.
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Witnesses told police that Weaver was glued to her phone, leaving her son unsupervised in the pool.
Several people have come forward and outlined what they saw at the water park in police documents seen by KFox.
One witness claimed a woman matching Weaver's description was on her phone for over an hour by the pool 'never looking up or paying attention to anything'.
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Another claimed a woman matching Weaver's description encouraged encouraged Malave to go into the pool, then walked away and left him on his own. They added that Weaver took five minutes to respond after a lifeguard blew their whistle asking people to get out of the water.
A third witness claimed they saw a woman who looked like Weaver singing along to music on her phone and not taking care of her child.
Weaver's attorney Ryan Macleod has claimed the criminal charge was brought against Weaver as payback for her lawsuit against the City of El Paso.
He also accused El Paso of destroying video footage taken on the day of the drowning.
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He said in a press release: "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.
"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.
"This charge against Ms. Weaver and the DA’s press conference stunt are clearly an act of vindictive retaliation against Ms. Weaver and another example of the City refusing to accept responsibility for Anthony’s death.
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"If the City and the DA had any interest whatsoever in seeking justice for Anthony and holding the responsible parties accountable, the DA would be pursuing charges against the 17 lifeguards and the water park officials who were ultimately responsible for ensuring the safety of the water park guests.
"That has not happened and will never happen – it’s bad for business."
A spokesperson for the El Paso District Attorney's Office told Tyla: "The District Attorney’s office is focused on seeking justice for Anthony and for the citizens of the Great State of Texas.
"We have no intention of engaging in a public discourse with a civil attorney regarding Ms. Weaver. We do not try our cases to the media, we try our cases to a jury.
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"We look forward to continuing to pursue justice in the courts of El Paso, Hudspeth and Culberson counties for all of the victims of crime."
Tyla has contacted Ryan Macleod and Camp Cohen Water Park for a comment.
Mia Williams