MURRIETA, CA — A Murrieta mother has pleaded guilty to felony child endangerment after her 2-year-old daughter drown in the family's swimming pool last year, according to reporting from The Press-Enterprise.
Following her plea, Ashley Allison Smith, 41, was subsequently sentenced Thursday to 180 days in custody and four years' probation, the outlet reported.
The drowning occurred on Aug. 27, 2025. Smith told Murrieta police officers she was in the living room of the family's Stellarview Avenue home with her 1-year-old son and believed her 2-year-old was in a bedroom with her 12-year-old daughter, the PE reported.
When Smith learned the toddler was not in the bedroom, she searched the property and found the unresponsive child floating in the pool.
"Surveillance video showed the girl entering the pool unaccompanied at 5:08 p.m. and struggling to stay afloat. She had been in the pool for 27 minutes before she was discovered. The girl was pronounced dead at a hospital," according the PE report.
A sensor and lock on the family's sliding glass door to the pool were working, but pool sensors were in the garage, the news outlet reported.
The state of California and Riverside County have strict pool safety laws and ordinances that require homeowners and property managers to employ drowning-prevention measures. Read the state's mandates here. Information about Riverside County can be found here.
Between 2018-2021, drownings were the first and second leading causes of death in children aged 1-4 in Riverside County, according to the Riverside University Health System - Public Health.
California Department of Public Health data shows there were 430 recorded emergency department visits for drowning and submersion injuries among children under 18 in Riverside County between 2020 and 2024. Nearly 84% of those incidents involved children who were younger than 5. The county also recorded 24 child drowning deaths over the same period, with 19 of those being children under 5.
"People often think of drowning as a dramatic event where there's a lot of flailing and splashing, but really what we see is it can be a silent event. Watching the water is key to knowing when someone is in trouble," said Dr. Michael Mesisca, Department Chair of Emergency Medicine for RUHS – Medical Center. "Drownings can happen wherever water is present — whether that's a lake or something as small as a bucket."
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
Murrieta Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.