Lester Ortiz, 39, and Barbara Ruiz, 37, were arrested after their 3-year-old autistic son drowned in a pond in Sanford after they allegedly didn’t realize he got out of their apartment in Sanford, Florida. Police said the two reeked of marijuana. (Seminole County Jail)
A mother and father are behind bars after their 3-year-old son with autism was able to get out of their Florida apartment and later drowned in a pond, according to police.
It happened just after 3 p.m. Saturday at an apartment complex in Sanford, about 20 miles north of Orlando.
The parents, 39-year-old Lester Ortiz and 37-year-old Barbara Ruiz, are now facing aggravated manslaughter of a child charges in the death of their son Ethan Ortiz Ruiz, jail records show. A probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime said Ortiz called 911 and told dispatchers the boy went missing from the home about 30 minutes prior.
Ortiz told Sanford police officers he searched for Ethan near the pond and other areas but couldn’t find him. Officers noticed Ortiz “had a strong odor of fresh marijuana coming from his clothing, bloodshot eyes and was sweating profusely,” the affidavit said. When an officer went inside the apartment to speak with Ruiz, she also had bloodshot eyes and the “entire residence” smelled like freshly-smoked marijuana.
More on Law&Crime: Day care operators previously cited for violations arrested after 2 toddlers drown in backyard pool
Read Related Also: The picture that shames Australia: The politicians REFUSING to condemn Hamas after terrorists slaughtered babies in bloodthirsty massacre
Ruiz said she was in the bathroom around 2:40 p.m. while Ethan was in the living room. She said she heard a door open and close and asked her 15-year-old daughter to check the front door. The daughter checked the front door but didn’t realize Ethan had got out, the affidavit said. While still in the bathroom Ortiz called her husband to ask him where Ethan was and he said the boy wasn’t with him. That’s when Ortiz started looking for his son.
Around 3:30 p.m., officers saw an “unknown object” that was floating in the pond behind Ortiz and Ruiz’s apartment. Officers entered the pond and realized it was Ethan’s body. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead about 40 minutes later.
Ruiz and Ortiz said Ethan had gotten out of the apartment on at least three different occasions and on two of them neighbors found the boy wondering around and brought him to the front office, the affidavit said. Because of the nature of the incident, officers called in the Florida Department of Children and Families to investigate. The parents both said they have medical marijuana cards and smoke marijuana regularly.
They were taken to the James E. Polk Correctional Facility where they are being held without bond.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
