Parents Charged In Death Of Bayville Toddler Who Drowned In Neighbor's Pool Last Summer

by Patricia A. Miller

BERKELEY TOWNSHIP - Two-year-old Maddigan McCarthy was often seen wandering around her Sylvan Lake neighborhood unsupervised before she drowned in a neighbor’s pool last August, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said.

Berkeley Township police officers recently arrested her parents, Robert S. Trella, 41 and Brigitte M. McCarthy in connection with the little girl’s death, after a five-month investigation, Al Della Fave said.

Trella was charged with two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, possession of a controlled dangerous substance and tampering with evidence. McCarthy was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child and possession of a controlled dangerous substance. Their bails were set at $200,000 cash, he said.

Berkeley Patrolman Alexander Houle responded to an Aug. 17 report of a nine-year-old girl running down the street telling people her little sister was missing. The toddler was later found unresponsive in the shallow end of a neighbor’s pool. She was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where she was pronounced dead.

When police entered the family home on Bittern Lane that night, they discovered marijuana and heroin in the home.

“McCarthy further instructed her 9-year-old daughter to retrieve a tin containing suspected heroin in the presence of the investigating law enforcement officers,” Della Fave said. “Trella further attempted to destroy marijuana located within the home.”

Police later learned that Maddigan’s 9-year-old sister had assumed many of the toddler’s caretaking responsibilities, he said.

The case is being investigated by Detective William Somers, Sergeant William Cullen and Patrolman Taylor Butler of Berkeley Township Police Department, Sergeant Brian Haggerty of Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit. The Crime Scene Investigation Unit of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office also assisted in the investigation. Charges were approved by Senior Assistant Prosecutor Christine Lento, who will be prosecuting the case.

Anyone having information regarding this case are asked to contact the investigating Detectives at either the Berkeley Township Police Department (732 341-6600) or Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office (732 929-2027).

Photo credits: Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.