Florida police have arrested a 31-year-old woman for the death of a 9-monh-old boy nearly a year ago.
A child named Timothy David Smith was under the supervision of Desiree Rentz on July 25, 2024, as reported by the St. Petersburg Police. Rentz informed authorities that the infant was unresponsive and did not wake up from a nap.
When they arrived at the apartment, they found that “Rentz was running a daycare with more than a dozen children in her one-bedroom apartment.”
Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that Rentz was not actually a licensed daycare provider, contrary to what she had led the parents to believe. While she did have licenses for temporary foster care with a one-child limit displayed, the State Department of Health and the Department of Children and Families confirmed she was never approved to operate a daycare.
An examination conducted on the boy revealed that he had been administered cough syrup unsuitable for children under the age of four, without the parents’ knowledge or consent.
The US Marshals Service assisted in Rentz’s arrest. the was charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and misrepresentation of a childcare facility resulting in death, WKMG reported.
Police did not explain why it took just short of a year to filed charges and make an arrest. She was still behind bars on Wednesday with $175,000 bond, according to jail records.
