Brooklyn mom charged in death of 6-year-old, says she was baptizing girl before bathtub drowning

The mother of a 6-year-old girl whose body was found in the bathtub of their Brooklyn apartment told police she was baptizing her daughter when the child tragically drowned, prosecutors revealed on Sunday.

Mother Karla Espinal, 26, faces charges of felony assault, child endangerment and reckless endangerment after her daughter Madelyne Tavarez’s death at the home on Elton St. near Ridgewood Ave. in East New York at about 1:30 p.m. Friday.

A police source told the Daily News the youngster’s death is considered suspicious. Madelyne was in the tub for around 20 minutes before cops arrived, and her mom and dad were both present when officers showed up.

Madelyne had blood clots in her eyes, indicating a struggle and possibly strangulation, the source said. She would have turned 7 on Feb. 20.

Neighbors said they saw the girl’s father jump into the ambulance with his daughter before it headed to Brookdale University Hospital. A few moments later, cops removed the child’s mom from the home in handcuffs, the neighbors said. At the time, police said she was being brought in for questioning.

Just an hour before the girl’s lifeless body was discovered in the tub, her devastated dad told cops he had seen Madelyne alive and well, prosecutors said at Espinal’s arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Sunday.

“The defendant submerged [Madelyne] in a bathtub leading to the death of the child,” Assistant District Attorney Ari Rottenberg charged during the hearing. “The defendant was baptizing the defendant’s daughter.”

Espinal remained silent during the arraignment, her head bowed as prosecutors described the harrowing details of  Madelyne’s death. The mom was ordered held without bail, placed under psychological supervision and is currently on suicide watch.

The city medical examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine exactly how the little girl died; upgraded charges against the mother are possible.

The girl’s father works as a manager at a nearby Bravo supermarket. He was scheduled to work Friday afternoon but didn’t show up, co-worker Emmanuel Pichardo told The News.

Pichardo said he texted asking where the father was and the dad responded, “Somebody killed my daughter.”

“He didn’t say who,” Pichardo told The News. “He asked for a miracle.”

Neighbors recalled Madelyne as cheerful and her parents as loving. Both parents would take the girl to school, residents said.

“She’s happy. She’s cute,” longtime neighbor Gina Khau, 72, said. “I see they happy. I see the mother love the girl so much.”

When asked about the little girl’s seeming happiness Saturday, the child’s uncle told reporters,” “Sometimes it doesn’t seem the way it is, but it is what it is,” and added, “I don’t want to talk about anything.”

Originally Published: February 9, 2025 at 8:04 AM EST