Prosecutors say a woman in California is charged with murder after she reportedly went home to take a bath while leaving her four-year-old daughter to die stuck in a flooded SUV.
Following a fatal collision in Hickman, California, on March 8, Juliette Marie Acosta, 26, is now in detention and facing many offenses, including murder, felony DUI, and resisting arrest.
When Acosta’s Subaru SUV swerved into an irrigation ditch, her daughter Reagan Herrin was in the backseat.
According to authorities, Acosta had blood alcohol concentration that was almost three times the legal limit, as reported by The Independent.
The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office claims that Acosta left the scene of the collision with her kid still buckled up in her car seat.
Prosecutors claim that she left Reagan “in peril” and was later discovered bathing with her daughter still immersed in the car.
Reagan was first taken via airlift, but emergency personnel decided she was too unstable and took her by ambulance instead.
The next day, the four-year-old passed away in the hospital. According to The Sacramento Bee, authorities claim that Reagan’s uncle,
Who lived nearby, hurried to the scene and assisted in removing Acosta from the car. Then he and a deputy pulled Reagan out of the freezing water.
California Highway Patrol spokesman Tom Olsen stated, “Heroically, and without hesitation, [they] entered the frigid water and rescued” the toddler.
Initially detained for DUI, Acosta was eventually freed on bond despite not being hurt in the collision. Prosecutors filed fresh accusations, including murder, and officers located her.
At a hotel in San Francisco on Friday. She attempted to escape, according to the officers, and her father, Clifford Acosta Jr., was also taken into custody for allegedly helping her do so.
Gil Somera, Acosta’s lawyer, denied such allegations and claimed to have set up her voluntary surrender. “It is absolutely untrue to suggest that my client was trying to escape,”
Somera told The Independent. “Not only is such an accusation baseless, but it also seems to be meant to stir up public disapproval and contempt.”
Additionally, he denied the bath accusation, stating that it was logistically impossible. “It’s nearly impossible to have completed both of those in terms of timeline,” Somera said.
“It just doesn’t make sense logically to go take a bath while your daughter is drowning if it’s in her canal and not next to a house.”
He said that Acosta’s father was attempting to provide for his daughter rather than aiding her flee. Somera described her as “emotionally and psychologically devastated.”
Anyone familiar with her father is aware that he maintains his daughter with him despite having a sizable construction company in San Francisco. She was involved in his company as well.
Acosta might spend the rest of his life behind bars and is now being detained without bail. “The question is whether it’s a murder or manslaughter,” Somera said.
“Guilt is guilt, but the circumstances and the degree of guilt determine the appropriate punishment, and at the moment, everyone wants to go back to a mother’s life in prison.”
A GoFundMe established for Reagan’s father, Gage Herrin, has surpassed its $14,000 target and earned almost $22,000.
The campaign page states, “On Reagan’s behalf, any money that remains after expenses will be donated back to the community in hopes of preventing incidents like.
This from happening in the future.” “Once again, thank you for your unwavering support, and we pray that Reagan receives justice.