A 7-year-old girl drowns in a hotel pool while her mother drinks in the hotel bar. 

Katlyn Pineda was found lifeless in the Marriott Melville Long Island pool last year. She remained in a coma on a ventilator and feeding tube for a year, until she died on May 1, 2023.

Mom Erica Baez, 41, told investigators the girl had been alone for five minutes. The girl had actually been alone for at least half an hour while Baez ate and drank in the hotel bar. Baez then checked on the girl and went upstairs to check on her 5-month-old son, also left alone. She then went back to the bar.

Prosecutors say after another 30 minutes, Baez found Katlyn in the water. Hotel staff say Baez was told that there was no lifeguard on duty and that she was required to be with her daughter. 

The little girl suffered “irreversible” brain damage from lack of oxygen. After being in a long-term care facility in New Jersey for a year, she died.  

Joining Nancy Grace Today

• James Shelnutt – Attorney – The Shelnutt Law Firm, P.C.; 27-year Atlanta Metro Area Major Case Detective and Former S.W.A.T. Officer; Twitter: @ShelnuttLawFirm
• Dr. Angela Arnold – Psychiatrist, Atlanta GA.; Expert in the Treatment of Pregnant/Postpartum Women, Former Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology: Emory University; Former Medical Director of The Psychiatric Ob-Gyn Clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital; Voted My Buckhead’s Best Psychiatric Practice of 2023
• Andrea Zaferes - Aquatic Death and Abuse investigator, Vice President of Lifeguard Systems; Twitter: @AZTeamLGS
• Dr. Jan Gorniak- Medical Examiner, Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner (Las Vegas, NV);  Board Certified Forensic Pathologist 
• Ashe Short - Senior Editor for The Daily Wire; Twitter @AsheSchow