Florida Mother Sentenced to 12 Years for Son’s Drowning Death, Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Manslaughter
Myra Santiago, a 24-year-old mother from Ormond Beach, Florida, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter in connection with the drowning death of her 3-year-old son, Azriyh Santiago.
The tragic incident occurred on April 23, 2023, when Azriyh wandered away from their apartment and ended up in a retention pond.
Despite attempts by emergency responders, Azriyh was unable to be revived after being found floating in the pond.
Surveillance footage showed him walking towards the water hours earlier, after being left alone in the apartment by his mother.
Santiago admitted to leaving him unattended for several hours the previous night when she visited the Daytona Beach boardwalk.
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In the aftermath, Santiago attempted to cover up her negligence by messaging a neighbor, asking them to lie to the police and claim they had watched Azriyh the previous night.
Despite this, police discovered that Santiago had not taken precautions to keep her son safe, such as installing child-proof locks, citing financial difficulties.
During her sentencing, Judge Kathryn Weston criticized Santiago’s actions, stating that her failure to take basic safety measures was “inexcusable.”
Santiago expressed remorse, and the judge also sentenced her to eight years of probation and prohibited her from having unsupervised contact with minors after her release.