The Bradenton Police Department is investigating the death of a teenager that occurred on Monday night, May 18, according to a press release.
Out of respect for the family, the BPD said it was not disclosing the juvenile’s age or gender at this time.
Officers responded to a 911 call in the 700 block of 12th Avenue West around 10:15 p.m., where they found the teenager dead outside a home, according to the release.
The circumstances surrounding the death are being investigated by the BPD and the Manatee Homicide Investigation Unit. The agency said it appears to be an isolated incident.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Detective Jeff Beckley at jeff.beckley@bradentonpd.com or call 941-932-9356.
Tips can be submitted anonymously to Manatee Crime Stoppers at manateecrimestoppers.com.
Bradenton mother intoxicated while 4-year-old drowned, police say
In related news, the Herald-Tribune previously reported that a Bradenton woman was intoxicated and walking around a pool deck while looking at her cellphone as her 4-year-old daughter drowned, according to court records.
Rosette Pierrecius, 32, was arrested on Sunday, May 10, which was Mother’s Day, and charged with child neglect causing great bodily harm. According to the probable cause affidavit, she told Bradenton Police Department officers a version of events that contradicted what was discovered on a video camera at the pool.
The drowning happened at a pool party on the evening of Saturday, May 9, at the Kendall Ridge Apartment Complex at 302 26th Ave. West. BPD officers were dispatched to the complex at 9:10 p.m., arriving at the scene within three minutes. They started CPR immediately, then EMS brought the child to the hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Pierrecius told police that she wrapped her daughter in a towel, set her in a chair and left her with two juveniles she believed to be between the ages of 8 and 10 while she went to the bathroom. Finding the door locked, she returned to the chair, but her daughter and the juveniles were gone. As Pierrecius was looking for her daughter, she said another adult found her at the bottom of the pool.
According to the probable cause affidavit, police obtained pool security camera footage and discovered Pierrecius did not wrap her daughter in a towel, nor did she leave her with anyone.
The 4-year-old entered the pool by climbing down a ladder unsupervised, the affidavit states. As the girl walked deeper into the pool before becoming submerged, Pierrecius could be seen walking around the deck and looking at her cell phone.
The victim’s body was recovered from the pool after an adult saw her at the bottom. She had been in the pool for 9 minutes, court records show.
Pierrecius was taken to the Bradenton Police Department, where she agreed to give a statement.
She told police that she had consumed six Corona beers and agreed to take a blood-alcohol test. According to the BPD, her blood-alcohol level was 0.124, above Florida’s legal driving limit of 0.08.
She told police that her daughter did not know how to swim, she never asked any other adult to watch her while in the pool, and she did not know her daughter had been underwater for nearly 10 minutes.
“We grieve along with the community on the tragic loss of a child,” the BPD said in the release. “Sadly, drowning is the leading cause of death in America among children (ages) one to four, and drownings can happen even with many adults present.
“Even when lifeguards are present, we cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of a dedicated ‘water watcher’ to help keep our children safe.”
Please support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Teen found dead outside Bradenton home, police investigating
Reporting by Chris Anderson, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
