A Washington, D.C., man has been arrested in Florida following the death of his toddler daughter, who authorities say drowned in his arms in a hot tub while the family was vacationing at an Airbnb in Miami.
According to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, deputies were called to a residence on Nice Court in Kissimmee shortly after 3:30 a.m. Saturday after receiving a report of an unresponsive child. Paramedics arrived and transported the 20-month-old girl to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead about an hour later.
Hough Admitted to Consuming Alcohol, Narcotics Before Getting in the Hot Tub with the Child
Investigators said the child's 33-year-old father, Reynard Tyrone Hough, told detectives he had been drinking alcohol and had taken "two different types of unknown narcotics" earlier in the night.
In a post-Miranda interview, Hough said that between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. he entered the master bedroom and saw the child's mother and an infant asleep. He noticed the toddler was awake and wanted to be with him, so he picked her up and went outside to the backyard hot tub.
Hough Fell Asleep While Holding His Daughter in His Arms, Woke Up to Find the Child Had Gone Limp
Hough allegedly told detectives he was holding the girl when he fell asleep for about 20 minutes. He awoke when he felt her head drop and immediately realized something was wrong because she had gone limp. Authorities said he then ran inside to alert the child's mother but did not mention that they had been in the hot tub or that the child may have drowned.
The mother called 911, and first responders arrived to find the toddler unresponsive and foaming at the mouth, according to the arrest affidavit. Deputies noted that Hough could not provide a reasonable explanation for taking a 1-year-old child who could not swim into a hot tub approximately 37 inches deep at around 3 a.m., with outside temperatures near 55 degrees, while he was still affected by alcohol.
Hough had been staying at the Airbnb with his family at the time of the incident. He is charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect causing great bodily harm, and is currently being held at the Osceola County Jail without bond.
