OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — An Osceola man made his first court appearance in Osceola County Court Wednesday after a months-long investigation into the death of an infant.
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Joshua Ruiz-Martinez is in jail after investigators said he neglected to care for his infant daughter after she drowned in a bathtub.
The incident happened in April when investigators said Ruiz-Martinez left the bathroom to play video games while his daughter was in the tub with running water.
The reports state that Ruiz-Martinez was the only person in the house at the time and was watching his daughter and spent the day playing a computer game and periodically tending to his daughter.
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Investigators say Ruiz-Martinez told them he wanted to bathe his daughter because she was “fussy” and thought it was her skin becoming irritated from her eczema.
The report states that Ruiz-Martinez initially told investigators the bath water was at stomach level and stepped away from his infant daughter for three minutes while she was in the tub to make her a bottle in the kitchen. Stating he was only away from her for three minutes.
A search warrant of his phone and computer showed them he was gone for more than 10 minutes while he played video games on his computer, leaving her in the tube alone while the water was still running.
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Investigators said the time stamps on the games showed he was inactive for 15 minutes, showing investigators he was on the system until he discovered his infant daughter in the tub.
Investigators said by the time he went back to the bathroom, the infant was face down in the water and had drowned.
Ruiz-Martinez’s arrest reports stated about two hours later, he sent a message on the Discord app about his daughter’s drowning but said it happened in a pool, and that law enforcement hadn’t given him answers about it. An hour later, he sent another message on the app telling his friends not to leave their children alone with anyone.
Investigators said he showed reckless regard for his daughter’s safety, leading to her death. He’s being charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child.
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