One-year-old girl found dead in pool at New York nursery while caretaker was cooking

Tragedy struck a home-run day care in the Bronx last week, when a little girl was found dead in a pool.

Police found the youngster - identified by US media as River Wilson - unconscious and unresponsive when they responded to a 911 call around 12:50 p.m. Friday, according to authorities.

River was in the care of a 47-year-old woman who had been cooking for about 20 minutes when she realised she hadn't seen the little girl, the sources said. Sadly, River was later pronounced dead at the hospital. It comes as adad was jailed after a boy, 7, was found dead inside washing machine.

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Her aunt, Ezinne Ijomah, was asked about her understanding of what happened. "Negligence. That's all I can say," Ijomah told CBS News. "River was ... sorry ... River was joyful. She was a happy baby. She was at one point taking swimming lessons, so she was, I guess, familiar. She loved the water."

One neighbour described the upsetting scene at the daycare in the wake of the tragedy. "The mother came and she was devastated, like you could just hear her wallowing in screams," Edward Shoman said.

The family held a vigil on Sunday, with their attorney later releasing a statement that said, in part, "The family of River Wilson is devastated by this unimaginable tragedy. They are living every parent's worst nightmare."

The Office of Children and Family Services said it cannot comment on active investigations but did release a statement, which said, in part: "The safety and well-being of all children in OCFS-licensed daycare programs is our top priority."

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It comes three months after a woman was jailed after an 11-month-old baby in her unlicensed day nursery died.

The tragic incident happened on August 30, 2022, when the baby boy, who has not been named, was under the care of Teresa Louise Biswanath, who was running an unlicensed in-home nursery. The defendant previously worked at a well-known childcare center where she underwent extensive training, including safe sleeping techniques for infants.

Prosecutors stated that the boy was under her supervision when she "squeezed [him] into a swaddle much too small for his size" which was "designed for newborns less than three months old who could not roll over or crawl as he could.

"On the day of the child's death, the defendant was caring for five children, including the victim. During nap time, the defendant squeezed the victim into a swaddle much too small for his size, one designed for newborns less than three months old who could not roll over or crawl as he could. She used straps to bind the child's arms and put a pacifier with a 6-inch stuffed animal attached into his mouth," prosecutors revealed after her conviction.

"The defendant initially tried to get the child to sleep in the same room with the other children, but eventually took him to a bedroom on the second floor of the home.

"She placed him facedown on the bed with his arms restrained by the swaddle and the pacifier in his mouth. The victim was upstairs for at least one hour as the defendant was in and out of the bedroom.

"The defendant left to check on the other children and when she returned to the upstairs room, she found the victim blue and unresponsive.

"She attempted to perform CPR while her husband called an ambulance. First responders were unable to revive the child."