Two Pasco County mothers have been arrested in separate cases for child neglect after both their children drowned in ponds last month.
- Roxann Potts and Selina Ann Warner arrested for child neglect after sons drown in ponds in separate incidents in April
- Deputies said both women had a history of failing to supervise their sons, based on statements from witnesses
Pasco Sheriff's detectives arrested 27-year-old Roxann Potts, of Hudson, in the drowning death of her 2-year-old son, Clayton Foskey.
Foskey was discovered missing from him home in The Verandas on Chenwood Avenue in Hudson on April 27th. Hours later, his body was found in a pond just 150 yards from his home.
According to the affidavit, Potts failed to properly supervise the child and “displayed a history of culpable negligence.”
Deputies said the child had been found wandering outside the home unattended numerous times in the past.
“[Potts] failed to secure the locks knowing the child was capable of opening the door," the affidavit states.
Pasco Sheriff's detectives also arrested Selina Ann Warner, 26, of New Port Richey, in a separate case after her 2-year-old son got out of his crib, left the residence through an unlocked door and was pulled from a nearby pond on April 21. He died a few days later.
Detectives say Warner had a history of failing to supervise the child.
A witness told deputies they had seen the child outside the home a half hour before he was discovered in the pond. Witnesses also stated they had seen the victim unattended two houses away from his home twice a couple days before the incident. Witnesses also stated they had seen the victim unattended the week prior in their yard.
The sheriff's office said both homes had a history of narcotics and neglect.
"These arrests were made because there was a history of neglect, there was a history of just allowing these children to wonder through the neighborhood without care or concern," Sheriff Chris Nocco said. "And that’s why they are both being charged with neglect charges, 2nd degree felony with serious injury, which absolutely led to their deaths."
Investigators say there were no open investigations with its child protective unit for either child, and no history of neighbors calling 911.