Mother Arrested In Near Drowning Incident

Posted
Apryl Connolly
(Volusia County Jail)

Daytona Beach Shores, FL - A mother caught throwing away drugs is arrested after one of her children almost drowns in a hot tub.

Last night (March 24th), officers responded to Perry's Ocean Edge Resort off of South Atlantic Avenue where staff said they had pulled an unresponsive three-year-old boy from a hot tub.

According to Daytona Beach Shores police, twin three-year-old boys were in the resort's hot tub with their father and their mother, 36-year-old Apryl Connolly.

While the pool closed, the father left the children in the care of Connolly while he gathered their things.

Not long after, the desk clerk, who was watching surveillance video from the resort's lobby, watched as the twins returned to the hot tub. Both boys stood on one of the interior steps.

Suddenly, one of them stepped into the middle of the hot tub and went under the water. The desk clerk then soon believed the boy was drowning.

She radioed another staff member and told him what she saw on surveillance.

The staff member came to the pool where he saw the victim's brother near the edge, but the victim could not be seen. He was told by a guest on the second floor that she too had seen a child floating in the hot tub.

He turned off the jets and could then see the submerged child. He jumped into the hot tub and pulled out the boy who was not breathing and had no pulse.

The staff member and the boy's father began CPR until the guest from the second floor came down.

The guest continued CPR until the boy could breathe on his own. The child was transported to Halifax Medical Center.

However, because of the severity of his condition, he was later transported to Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital in Orlando.

When officers reviewed the footage, they noted that while Connoly's child was being resuscitated, she went to her purse and threw something in the garbage.

Police recovered a pill from the garbage can, which Connolly admitted to disposing of during the emrgency.

Connolly further admitted to consuming alcohol, marijuana, oxycodone and suboxone prior to the incident.

Connolly was charged with felony child neglect and destruction of evidence. She was booked without bond.

The boy's condition is not known at this time.

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