A 35-year-old Indiana mother, Jessica Weaver, is facing negligence charges after her three-year-old son drowned at Camp Cohen Water Park in El Paso, Texas. 

The tragedy took place this past May when, according to multiple witnesses, Weaver was distracted by her phone and music and was not attending to her child.

The boy, Anthony Leo Malave, drowned in a pool section measuring four feet deep, without wearing the life vests readily available at the facility. 

According to Camp Cohen’s Water Park rules, children who are six years old and under must be under the direct supervision of an adult swimmer. Several onlookers commented on Weaver’s inattentiveness, describing the mom as absorbed by her phone and oblivious to her child. 

On August 30, Weaver was arrested in Indiana and she waived extradition. Then on September 22, she was incarcerated in the El Paso County Jail. Weaver was later released on a surety bond of $100,000. Weaver’s attorneys have initiated a $1 million lawsuit against the city, claiming “gross negligence” on the part of the park and its lifeguards.

The city’s action of placing all the blame on Weaver for her son’s death and levying criminal charges is retaliation, say the lawyers. Their lawsuit argues that the city didn’t mandate experience for lifeguard candidates and even accuses the city of erasing surveillance footage from the day of the drowning. 

El Paso District Attorney, Bill Hicks, was quick to point out that the city sees the civil lawsuit and criminal prosecution as separate matters. In defense of the thoroughness of every child death investigation, he refrained from engaging in an argument with Weaver’s civil attorney.