Bloomington couple avoids prison time after 21-month-old drowns in tub
Bloomington parents who were charged in September 2019 with second-degree manslaughter following the drowning death of their 21-month-old child will not face prison time.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Monday that Eddy Pierre Louis, 55, and Sabina Pierre Louis, 26, have been sentenced to three years of probation. The Louis' each pleaded guilty to the second-degree manslaughter charge in August and they were sentenced to 48 months in prison, but a judge stayed that sentence and put them on probation, in addition to 180 days on electronic home monitoring and 150 hours of community service.
The judge, according to a release from Freeman, reasoned that the parents "had shown remorse and accepted responsibility for their toddler's death."
A criminal complaint detailed the incident, noting that the parents drove their baby to Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina after finding their child floating in the bathtub.
The father attempted CPR but lifesaving attempts were unsuccessful.
Police were sent to the hospital at 10:20 a.m. on Sept. 21 where they interviewed the parents, and there were enough inconsistencies in their stories that police began an investigation.
Surveillance video from Cub Foods and Walmart revealed that the couple had left their children unattended at their apartment – the Morgan Apartments off of West 76th Street – for nearly two hours.
The parents later admitted that they left their residence when their three children, ages 9, 4 and 21 months, were still asleep. They thought they would stay sleeping while they shopped for groceries, but when they got home they heard the 4-year-old in the bathroom, which led to the discovery of their baby in the tub.
Eddy Pierre Louis admitted to police that they didn't call 911 out of fear police would ask questions, so they decided to dry and clothe the baby and then take him to the hospital on their own.
The two other children were removed from the home and are currently living with family friends, according to Freeman. The Louis' must also go to family therapy and take a parenting class.
