A one-year-old baby girl drowned on Sunday evening, while she was unattended, as her parents attended the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Rally.

Dead is Marianna Smartt, who was found floating in a pond about 30 feet away from her Lot 42 Amelia’s Ward home, by her 16-year-old brother.

Smartt was fished out of the pond and rushed to the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC), where she was pronounced dead. This newspaper confirmed that Smartt and her other six siblings were left in the care of their 16-year-old brother by their parents, Marlon and Deborah Smartt, so that the parents could attend the PPP rally.

In his report to the police, the 16-year-old explained that he was washing clothes at the back of the yard while his siblings were playing at the front. According to him, he periodically checked on them from the time his parents left around 15:00hrs.

It was around 17:00hrs that he discovered that Marianna was not with the rest of the siblings. A search was initiated and the toddler was found floating in a pond. Neighbours rushed to the aid of the teen in hopes that the child, who was in an unconscious state, would have been revived at the hospital. It was, however, too late.

This publication spoke to one resident of Cinderella City, who related that the older siblings are often burdened with taking care of the younger siblings and house work.
Since no marks of violence were found on the child, neither of the parents nor the brother was taken into custody. Police, however, are continuing to investigate the incident.