Children's Safety Zone

TUCSON – An angry mother is speaking out for the first time, after her 10 month old daughter drowned in her babysitter’s care.

Zada Davis told police she left Winter Azure in a bathtub unattended with the water running for about ten minutes.

The girl died six days later, becoming Pima County’s only child drowning this year.

Wednesday Davis pleaded not guilty to second degree murder.

Winter’s mother Kiari Holland sat in court and watched as Zada Davis pleaded not guilty to 2nd degree murder. A woman she thought she could trust.

Holland said she ran a background check and talked with friends who had also used the suspect as a sitter and thought that would be enough, but it wasn’t.

Holland said, “I figured it would go without saying for common sense, especially for a parent much less for anyone. You just don’t leave a child around water period.”

Its common sense that police said was missing for 10 minutes, leaving the little girl under water one minute, for every month she was alive.

It was a life cut way too short, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t leave her mark.

Talking about some of the things Winter liked Holland said, “For a ten month old she liked being thrown and hung upside down.” She also talked about how good of a baby she was. She said, “I still think to this day I don’t think she knew how to produce tears. She was just not a very good crying type of child.”

As for the suspect, the judge released her on her own recognizance, which is something Holland isn’t happy about. She said, “I’m a little irritated because almost anywhere else I’ve lived she’d be sitting in jail right now.”

But just because she’s out of jail doesn’t mean she’s off the hook by any means. If Davis is found guilty, she could face up to 25 years in prison for the 2nd degree murder charge alone.

GLENDALE, AZ – A 1-year-old girl was flown to Phoenix Children’s Hospital in extremely critical condition after being pulled from a back yard pool in Glendale Friday evening.

Mike Young of the Glendale Fire Department said the call came from a residence near Bethany Home Road and 75th Avenue.

The girl was being watched with four other children by their grandmother at a home owned by the child’s aunt.

Fire officials say the girl’s 3-year-old brother opened the back door so the kids could get to the back yard.

There is a pool fence but it apparently doesn’t close all the way.

You could see from Air15 video that the pool is green and murky.

Fire officials say the girl was found face down in the pool for an unknown amount of time.

She was flown to the hospital and is expected to recover.

A Valley father received a call that his 1-year-old son was in the hospital and they weren’t sure if he was going to survive.

It was May 13, 2008 when Eric Myers’ wife went to check on her son who was being watched by a relative.

That relative had a backyard swimming pool, but no fencing around it.

The boy was found floating in the water. He had been in there for four minutes.

Four years later, Myers took part in a news conference hosted by the Mesa Fire Department and Cardon Children’s Medical Center warning parents about the dangers of unsupervised children in homes with pools.

“Go home tonight,” Myers said, “sit on the couch with your kids and actually look at a clock. Watch the hands move and count four minutes. Watch how many times your child takes a breath during that time and imagine those breaths being robbed by water.”

Doctors were able to save Myers’ son, who is now a healthy 5-year-old, he said.

So far this year, seven children have drowned in the Valley.

GLENDALE, AZ – Authorities say a 6-month old girl has died Tuesday morning after she was left unattended in a bathtub.

The incident happened around 4:30 a.m. at an apartment complex near 59th Avenue and Bethany Home Road.

Glendale police Sgt. Brent Coombs said the baby soiled her diaper, and her parents took her to the bathtub to clean her up.

The parents reportedly left her unattended for a brief moment and returned to find the baby in the water.

Glendale fire officials said the girl was pulled from the tub and appeared blue.

Police officers first arrived on scene and performed CPR on the girl.

They were able to revive her, but her condition worsened either on the way to the hospital or upon arrival.

Coombs said the infant was fighting for her life in the hospital until she passed away a few hours later.

Officers were conducting an investigation at the scene with police tape surrounding the home.

It’s unclear if any charges will be filed.

Mesa fire crews responded to two separate drowning calls seven minutes apart Saturday afternoon.

Fire officials said both calls involved 3-year-old males who had been under water for an unknown period of time.

The first incident occurred just after 3 p.m. near Elliot and Meridian roads in east Mesa.

Officials said an adult male had started CPR and when paramedics arrived the child was breathing and alert. The boy went to Cardon’s Children’s Hospital.

The second call was made just minutes later and appeared more critical.

Mesa police spokesman Anthony Landato said this incident happened near Baseline and Crismon roads.

Fire officials said the child was “in full arrest” with CPR in progress. That 3-year-old boy was also transported to Cardon’s Children’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.