The tragic drowning of a three-year-old boy at a Texas water park has led to the indictment of his mother nearly two years after the incident. Jessica Weaver, 35, faces charges of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury following the death of her son, Anthony Malave, at Camp Cohen Water Park in El Paso in May 2023. The incident unfolded during the park’s soft opening, a period when operations are often under heightened scrutiny. While eighteen lifeguards were reportedly on duty, Anthony was pulled unconscious from a four-foot-deep section of the pool and later died in the hospital. The core of the case against Weaver rests on eyewitness accounts alleging her negligence and inattention to her son’s safety.
Witness testimonies paint a disturbing picture of Weaver’s preoccupation with her phone while her son played in the water without a life jacket. One witness claimed to have observed Weaver sitting by the pool completely engrossed in her phone, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings and her son’s activities. Another witness recounted seeing Weaver lying down, looking at her phone, and even singing along to music for an extended period. These accounts suggest a sustained pattern of inattention rather than a momentary lapse. The water park’s clearly posted rules mandate that children six and under must be within arm’s reach of a supervising adult at all times, a rule seemingly disregarded by Weaver. This disregard for safety regulations, coupled with the eyewitness accounts, forms the basis of the charges against her.
The indictment details several alleged failures on Weaver’s part contributing to Anthony’s death. Beyond neglecting to provide her son with a life vest and failing to be in the water with him, Weaver is accused of disregarding the park’s safety regulations, failing to maintain visual contact with Anthony, and not providing or requesting CPR for her son. These cumulative failures highlight a significant breach of parental responsibility and solidify the prosecution’s case against Weaver. The indictment suggests that her actions, or rather inactions, created a dangerous environment for her son, ultimately leading to the tragic outcome.
Adding another layer of complexity to the case is Weaver’s own lawsuit filed against the City of El Paso and ASM Global, the company operating the water park. Filed just a month after Anthony’s death, the wrongful death lawsuit accuses the water park of being severely understaffed and employing undertrained lifeguards. The lawsuit further alleges that crucial video footage of the drowning, which the city was responsible for preserving, was destroyed. This claim raises questions about the thoroughness of the investigation and the potential loss of key evidence. The destruction of the footage, if proven intentional, could suggest an attempt to cover up negligence on the part of the water park.
Weaver’s arrest in Indiana, her home state, two months after filing the lawsuit, was characterized by her attorneys as “retaliatory tactics” in response to her legal action. This assertion adds a contentious dimension to the case, suggesting a potential conflict of interest or an attempt to intimidate Weaver. The timing of the arrest, so soon after filing the lawsuit, inevitably raises suspicions about the motives behind it. Whether the arrest was indeed retaliatory or a legitimate response to the emerging evidence against Weaver remains a central question in the ongoing legal proceedings.
The juxtaposition of the criminal indictment against Weaver and her civil lawsuit creates a complex legal landscape. On one hand, the prosecution aims to hold Weaver accountable for her alleged negligence in supervising her son. On the other hand, Weaver’s lawsuit seeks to hold the water park responsible for allegedly inadequate safety measures and staff training. The two cases run parallel, each exploring different aspects of responsibility in Anthony’s death. The outcome of both the criminal and civil proceedings will ultimately determine the extent to which each party bears responsibility for this tragic event. The ongoing civil lawsuit further complicates the narrative, raising questions about potential negligence on the part of the water park and the handling of crucial evidence. The intersection of these legal battles will ultimately determine the allocation of responsibility for Anthony’s death.
