Former Daycare Operator Pleads Guilty To Manslaughter In Drowning Death Of 7-Year-Old Boy
By Tony Hanson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A former Philadelphia Daycare operator has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the drowning death of a seven-year-old boy in a dirty in-ground backyard pool. Tianna Edward, already serving a five-year federal sentence for stealing government funds intended for the daycare, will be sentenced for the death later.
Tianna Edwards, who already had a criminal record and opened Tianna's Terrific Tots under a false name, took children to her mother's house to swim. Prosecutor Brendan O'Malley says there were 21 children, including six toddlers, and Williams left the children in the care of two unlicensed, untrained workers, then little Isear Jeffcoat disappeared, literally, just feet away.
"The police officer described the inability to see underwater, hence them calling in the marine unit," said O'Malley.
"She basically does not wish to put the family through the pain of a trial and have to relive this tragedy," said defense attorney Michael Giampietro.
Edwards, again already serving the federal sentence, will be sentenced in this case later.
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