Mother who filed $1m lawsuit over son’s death is accused of ignoring him as he drowned
The mother’s attorney claims the criminal charges are a retaliation for her lawsuit against the city
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
A mother whose child died after drowning at an El Paso waterpark has been accused of "repeatedly ignoring" the toddler in the moment preceding his death.
Jessica Weaver, 35, has been accused of criminal negligence on a charge of injury to a child by omission stemming from the death of her three-year-old son, Anthony Leo Malave, according to the El Paso Times, citing court records.
Ms Weaver was booked into the El Paso County Jail on 22 September and released the same day on a $100,000 surety bond after she was extradited from her home state of Indiana.
El Paso police detectives cite several witnesses to the incident in their criminal complaint against Ms Weaver. Those witnesses claim that she was inattentive before the child drowned during the seasonal "soft-opening" of the Camp Cohen Water Park in May.
Anthony drowned in four feet of water just after 5pm on 13 May. He was pulled from the water by a lifeguard, but ultimately died in the hospital the following day.
Ms Weaver filed a $1m lawsuit against El Paso, claiming that "gross negligence" on the part of the water park and its lifeguards caused he son's death. Her attorneys are arguing that she is now being unfairly blamed for his death to take the blame off the city.
The detectives' criminal complaint notes that the park has signs posted informing visitors that children aged six and younger "must be directly attended by a swimming adult" at all times and "must be supervised by an adult within arm's reach."
The complaint also notes that the park was well under its maximum capacity the day of the drowning, and that Anthony was not wearing a life vest despite numerous vests being available at the time of the incident.
Numerous witnesses are listed as having spoken with detectives in the complaint, though their names were redacted to protect their identities.
The witness accounts include claims that a woman who police believe to be Ms Weaver was "by herself on her phone, never looking up or paying attention to anything."
Another witness says they saw "the mother singing along to a song that was playing and she was laying down, looking at her phone approximately seven minutes before the child/victim was getting pulled out of the water."
Others noted that it seemed odd to see such a young child in the pool unattended, and claimed the woman began to "walk away leaving the boy by himself" after gesturing for him to go swim.
One claim says it took "about 5 minutes" for the woman in the yellow top, believed to be Ms Weaver, to run to the child after lifeguards used a whistle to evacuate the pool. The woman did not immediately react to the situation when the boy was pulled from the pool, according to another witness.
Ryan MacLeod, one of Ms Weaver's attorneys, claims the charges against his client are a political stunt and retaliation for her lawsuit against the city.
El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks brushed off the claim.
"I'm not gonna lure myself to a back and forth with a civil attorney," Mr Hicks said during a press conference. "This is criminal proceedings. It's the state of Texas versus Ms. Weaver. I don't have anything to say to him."
The Independent has reached out to Ms Weaver's attorneys for comment.