A Florida mom is mourning the death of her two sons after they drowned in their apartment complex’s pool on May 22.
Wildine Joseph was asleep when her sons Ja’Kye Joseph, 6, and Branario Minto, 5, snuck out of their Silver Palms Apartment unit, MEAWW reports.
The brothers proceeded to jump the locked fence of the complex’s swimming pool. At 9:30 p.m, their mother and other family members were pulling their bodies from the bottom of the pool.
Wildine said:
“I tried all I can to do CPR. It didn’t work.”
First responders transported the boys to Northwest Medical Center, where doctors pronounced them dead.
Safe Kids urges parents to teach children never to go near or in water without adult supervision.
Their mom stated that the brothers had been taking swimming lessons, but they didn’t really have it down yet.
She explained:
“He was getting swimming lessons but he didn’t really make it. He thought he could swim but he cannot swim, and I think the brother tried to help him so he jumped in too.”
Now, Wildine is just wishing she would have gotten to her boys sooner.
The mother-of-four said:
“I’m so sorry. If I was there I could have saved them on time. I will always miss my babies. I’m sorry, Ja’Kye. I’m sorry, Branario.”
It is not clear exactly how long the children had been in the water. However, investigators are speaking with witnesses who may have seen Ja’Kye and Branario making their way to the pool.
Child protective services has taken the victims’ four-month-old and 1-year-old siblings from Wildine’s home as they continue to investigate.
Water Safety USA suggests parents install automatic door locks to prevent children from leaving the home. Furthermore, alarms will alert them if someone exits the home and enters the pool area.
Wildine has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for Ja’Kye and Branario’s funerals.
