Police Arrest Parents after Toddler Drowns

(AmericanProsperity.com) – Police authorities said on October 16 that officers arrested two Florida parents after their autistic child drowned in a retention pond at their apartment complex. The police said this was at least the fourth time the toddler had left his parents’ residence.

When officers arrived at their apartment, the boy’s parents Lester Ortiz and Barbara Ruiz reeked of “fresh marijuana” and had bloodshot eyes. Thirty minutes before, Ortiz called the police to report that their toddler was missing and they couldn’t find him anywhere.

Both Ruiz and Ortiz are currently facing charges of aggravated manslaughter, following their child’s death. Police noticed that, after arriving at their apartment, they could smell a “strong odor” of smoked cannabis while they were looking for the toddler. They eventually found the body of 3-year-old Ethan Ortiz floating in a pond that was behind their home.

While the kid was immediately taken to Sanford’s Lake Monroe Hospital, doctors pronounced him dead as soon as they checked him. The police said that neighbors claimed on three previous occasions that, when Ethan was seen in the apartment complex, he was walking near the pond.

The third time he was found outside, Ethan was brought to the front office by neighbors who claimed he wasn’t properly supervised by his parents. The last time before his death took place in March when a member of the management staff of the apartment complex called the police after finding Ethan walking outside on his own. The toddler’s dad told police officers he and his wife fell asleep without noticing their child left home. Officers explained that during their visit to this apartment, they saw the toddler could easily open the front door by himself, even when his parents installed some safety measures to prevent this from happening.

After speaking with Ruiz and Ortiz, following their child’s death, police authorities charged them with aggravated manslaughter of a child. The parents could face life in prison if they are found guilty.