How did twin toddlers die in a Roseville pool? Reports give insight into alleged neglect
A Sacramento County Child Protective Services investigation into the deaths of two toddlers in Roseville found the twins’ caregiver didn’t provide proper supervision but stopped short of saying the boys’ deaths were criminal.
Sincere and Legend Robinson Strong, 2, were found unresponsive Oct. 9 in a foster mother’s Roseville residential swimming pool. The brothers had been placed in the home by Sacramento County’s CPS.
According to documents released to reporters after a California Public Records Act request, the investigation was conducted by both law enforcement and Child Welfare Services. It noted the children died in non-accidental deaths but indicated the matter of their deaths was not the result of a crime. The documents released by Sacramento County’s CPS provide the first, yet small, glimpse of what happened when the foster mom found the boys in the residential pool.
The Roseville Police Department has declined numerous requests to release more information about the case, including on Wednesday. Department spokesman Lt. Chris Ciampa said officers would file their investigation with the Placer County District Attorney’s Office to see if criminal charges are warranted.
The foster mother told CPS investigators she “looked away for five minutes” before she found the twins in the pool, according to the mandatory suspected child abuse report filed to state Social Services officials. The guardian said she called 911 and began performing CPR, the heavily redacted report says.
“(It’s) unknown how long the children were in the pool,” the report says.
A person whose name is blacked out in the report but is believed to be the guardian of the boys and children said she thought the boys were asleep when the incident occurred and that she was upstairs working.
There is an in-ground swimming pool with a window that has “direct access” to the pool at the house, according to a document filed by the foster family with state Health and Human Services officials. The document said the foster mother would be allowed to care for children if she met specific conditions to secure the pool and entryway. She received her approval in February, the document says.
State officials said an alarm was required for the window and that it must be active 24/7. Officials also told the applicant to practice safe techniques designed to keep children from drowning.
“Under no conditions will the window alarm be removed, disconnected, or turned off,” the approval document said. “All adults supervising minors must have a valid water safety certificate and no access to the pool area without proper adult supervision will occur.”
The visible portions of the documents released to reporters did not indicate whether the alarm had gone off or was functioning.
The document also notes there were no other adults who occupied the home. Other children living in the residence were at school at the time. It’s unclear if these children are biological children or adopted children of the foster mother, and if they were removed from the home following the drownings.
The foster mother was upset when providing these statements to law enforcement, the document states. There was a Ring doorbell camera affixed to the house, but the foster mom declined to provide that footage to authorities, the report states. Police seized her cellphone and noted the presence of an opened Mike’s Hard Lemonade in the kitchen.
It also adds the foster mother has retained an attorney and isn’t cooperating with law enforcement’s investigation.
There were no prior neglect or abuse investigations of the woman conducted by law enforcement at the home, a risk assessment of the home says.
Ciampa, the spokesman for Roseville police, said in a statement Nov. 17 that detectives were conducting interviews, reviewing any available surveillance footage and working with the Placer County Coroner’s Office to understand the nature of the drownings.
