FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Mother Indicted for Assault in Connection with Daughter’s Drowning
Six-Year-Old Girl Died After Defendant Allegedly Held Her Underwater in Bathtub
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Brooklyn woman has been indicted for assault, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly holding her daughter’s head under water in a bathtub.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This innocent child had her whole life ahead of her when the person she depended on allegedly drowned her in a bathtub. This is a distressing and unspeakable case, which we continue to investigate to ensure that this defendant is held fully accountable. My thoughts are with the child’s heartbroken father and other family members at this time.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Karla Espinal, 26, of East New York, Brooklyn. She was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Donald Leo on an indictment charging her with second-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child. She was ordered held without bail and to return to court on May 15, 2025.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on February 7, 2025, at 165 Elton Street, in East New York, Brooklyn, the defendant allegedly submerged her six-year-old daughter, Madeline Tavarez, underwater in a bathtub.
When the child’s father arrived home, shortly thereafter, he found his daughter in the bathtub with the defendant and unresponsive. The girl was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where she was declared dead at 2:42 p.m. The case may be superseded when the Medical Examiner finishes its investigation and makes a final determination of a cause and manner of death.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Daniel Brian Newcombe, of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Olatokunbo Olaniyan, First Deputy Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Miss Gregory, Bureau Chief.
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An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.