A mother from Florida has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after her 3-year-old son drowned in a retention pond. The tragic accident happened when the boy wandered away from their apartment without anyone noticing.
On December 13, 24-year-old Myra Santiago, from Ormond Beach, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter of a child, which is a serious crime. The charge is a first-degree felony, and it means that the mother was responsible for her child’s death due to neglect or carelessness.
Just a few days later, on December 16, a judge in Volusia County sentenced Santiago to 12 years in prison. She could have been given up to 30 years in prison for the crime, but the judge decided on a shorter sentence.
The incident took place on April 23, 2023, when someone living in the San Marcos Apartments in Ormond Beach called 911. The person said, “I have a child floating in my pond.” Emergency responders arrived quickly and tried to revive the boy, Azriyh Santiago, but sadly, they were not able to save him.
According to the police, Azriyh had wandered away from the apartment where he lived with his mother earlier that morning. A neighbor’s security camera captured footage of the toddler running past their door and heading towards the pond around 6:45 a.m. The video showed Azriyh holding what looked like a tablet and walking around before running toward the pond, where the video ended.
Myra Santiago said she did not realize anything was wrong until she woke up and saw crime scene tape outside her apartment. She later told police that the night before, she had left Azriyh alone for several hours while she went to the Daytona Beach boardwalk. Santiago admitted that she had sent a Facebook message to a neighbor asking them to tell the police that they had watched Azriyh the night before. In the message, she said she had picked him up from the neighbor’s place around 2 or 3 a.m. and added that she was “freaking out” and would explain later.
Santiago’s aunt, Yvonne Martinez, spoke up in defense of the mother, saying that every time she visited, Azriyh seemed well-cared-for. Martinez described Santiago as a good mother and said her interactions with her niece and nephew were always positive.
Despite these claims, the police reported that Azriyh had escaped from the apartment before. Santiago never took steps to prevent it, such as buying childproof locks for the door. She told the police that she couldn’t afford them, which was one of the factors that led to the tragedy.
Before the sentencing, Santiago’s lawyer read a statement from her in which she expressed deep remorse for what had happened. She said she was heartbroken over the loss of her son. However, Circuit Judge Kathryn Weston had harsh words for Santiago. She said that while she could see that Santiago was sorry, it was inexcusable that she had not taken simple actions to keep her son safe, like installing childproof locks on the doors.
The judge also said that Santiago would likely regret not taking these steps for the rest of her life. In addition to the 12-year prison sentence, Santiago was given eight years of probation after she is released from prison. During her probation, she will not be allowed to have unsupervised contact with any children.
Santiago’s lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment after the sentencing. This case has drawn attention to the importance of child safety, especially when it comes to preventing young children from wandering out of the house and getting into dangerous situations.
