BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A Brooklyn woman has been indicted on assault and child endangerment charges after allegedly holding her 6-year-old daughter’s head underwater in a bathtub, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
Karla Espinal, 26, of East New York, was arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme Court on charges of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and endangering the welfare of a child.
She was ordered held without bail and is scheduled to return to court on May 15.
Prosecutors allege that on February 7, Espinal submerged her daughter, Madeline Tavarez, in a bathtub at their home on Elton Street. The child’s father arrived shortly afterward to find the girl unresponsive in the water. She was transported to Brookdale Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 2:42 p.m.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez called the case “distressing and unspeakable,” adding that the investigation is ongoing as the Medical Examiner determines the official cause and manner of death.
The case remains under review, with the possibility of additional charges pending further findings.
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