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Family suing Bronx day care after 20-month-old girl drowns in its pool
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Ryan Kost
Published Oct 14, 2025
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From the "In Memory of River: A Family's Heartache" GoFundMe page
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 14, 2025
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The parents of a 20-month-old girl who drowned in a Bronx day care’s pool two months ago plan to sue the center and its operators this week, they said Tuesday, adding they have been left in the dark about how their daughter died.
Ifiok and Ima Wilson announced the lawsuit on Tuesday at a press conference alongside U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres and the family’s attorney, James Williams. The lawsuit names Ana Feliz Gonzalez and John Guzman, who run Ana’s Butterfly Garden Family Group, and alleges that negligence led to the wrongful death of their daughter, River, on Aug. 1.
“ For more than two months, my wife and I have had the pain of losing our daughter made worse by silence and inaction from the law enforcement and the government agencies who are supposed to seek justice for River,” Ifiok Wilson said at the press conference, surrounded by photographs of his daughter. “No parent should have to beg for answers from their child's death. No parent should be forced to grieve in the dark, waiting for a phone call with answers that never come.”
The lawsuit does not name any city or state agencies, and so far, the family has not filed any notice of claim warning that a government agency litigation is expected. But Wilson said that more than two months after their daughter's death, River’s parents still do not know what happened “in her final moments” — but hope discovery in a lawsuit against the center will help provide answers.
“It seems odd that after 75 days, the family has not yet received a cause of death from the coroner,” Williams said in a phone interview after the press conference. “The owners of the day care [were] undisputedly responsible to watch River and to supervise her. Regardless of what happened, we know they could not have been supervising her properly, and that led to her death and they have not been held to account for that.”
Wilson provided Gothamist with a copy of the suit, which he said he expected to file in Bronx Supreme Court later Tuesday or early Wednesday. No one has been criminally charged in connection with the young girl’s death, he said.
Torres has introduced federal legislation named River’s Law that would ban swimming pools at residential day care centers and require window and door alarms. On Tuesday, he also placed blame on the Office of Children and Family Services, which he said failed to recognize a clear danger.
An unannounced inspection in May found no problems with pool access at the center, according to state records. But three days after River’s death, inspectors cited the day care for nine violations, including an inadequate pool fence, and suspended the center’s license.
“The most tragic fact about River's death is that all of it could have been and should have been prevented,” Torres said at the press conference. “River was catastrophically and fatally failed by a broken system. If there had been proper adult supervision, River would be alive today. If there had been thorough and complete safety inspections, River would be alive today.”
The Office of Children and Family Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Williams said the family hopes the lawsuit not only brings justice for their daughter but also leads to stronger safety standards across childcare centers.
“These proceedings that we intend to file will go where the evidence takes us,” Williams said during the phone call. "There won't be any rush to judgment. [The parents] just want answers.”
A spokesperson for the city’s chief medical examiner said the death remains under investigation and that it’s not uncommon for testing to take multiple weeks.
A call to the day care center on Tuesday, following the lawsuit announcement, went unanswered.
Tagged
bronx
education
public safety
Ryan Kost
Ryan Kost is a reporter on the day-of news desk, where he covers breaking news and writes enterprise stories about jails, courts, prosecutors and government accountability. His work focuses on the public institutions that shape life in New York. Before joining the newsroom, he lead a multi-part investigation with Columbia Journalism Investigations and New York Focus into how New York prosecutors handle wrongful conviction claims. He's also been a staff writer at The San Francisco Chronicle, The Associated Press and The Oregonian. Got a tip? Signal: ryankost.20
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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