In August, a 2 months old named Jersi McNight attended her first day of daycare. Now, her family is looking for justice.
According to WCTV, Jersi was enrolled at a state-licensed Florida-based daycare known as Hugger Family Daycare. As Jersi’s mom told WCTV, the daycare came highly recommended by “tons of people.”
Family Shocked After Grand Jury Decided to Forego Indictment After 2-Month-Old Drowns in Mop Bucket at Daycare
And because of that, Martasha Robinson assumed her baby girl would be in good care. On August 9, 2021, Robinson dropped Jersi off at the daycare for the first time just before 8 a.m.
Robinson said goodbye to her baby girl not knowing it would be for the final time. Seven hours later, Robinson received a call from another mother whose child attended the same facility.
The call was described as hysterical as the mother explained to Robinson that something had happened to one of the children at the facility. Robinson admitted her “heart stopped” while listening to the mother on the other end.
The thing is, as WCTV reports, Robinson had no idea just how bad it was until she was greeted by a police officer upon arriving at the daycare. Robinson would come to learn that her daughter, Jersi, had been left unattended on a changing table.
Tragically, Jersi somehow fell off the changing table and landed in a nearby mop bucket that had been filled with water. Jersi drowned as a result.
“That alone — leaving her — is just negligence.” Now, Robinson wants justice for her daughter but they were shocked to learn that a grand jury has determined not to indict the daycare owner on criminal charges.
Jersi’s aunt almost didn’t believe the decision that was made. “I’m still in shock, hoping I heard it wrong. Maybe I just heard it wrong.”
“That’s just like taking a bucket of water and throwing it out in the yard, and when it’s dried up, it’s over with. My grandbaby was way more than a bucket of water,” Jersi’s great-grandfather added.
Despite the grand jury’s decision, the case is still under investigation and according to police, they are looking into new evidence. Hugger Family Daycare has had two “non-compliant” citations in the past, something Robinson said she didn’t know about until after her daughter had died.
One of those citations occurred just five weeks before Jersi’s first day. According to Florida law, a daycare isn’t allowed to have 7 children under the age of 3 at one daycare. Jersi’s family has since hired a lawyer and they are pursuing a civil lawsuit against the facility at this time.