https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/this-is-the-story-of-a-crime-martha-s-vineyard-club-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-boy-s-drowning-last-summer/ar-AAYjnlX
Martha’s Vineyard club guilty of involuntary manslaughter in boy’s drowning
EDGARTOWN — On the morning of July 26 last year, Ellie Backer drove her 3-year-old son, Henry, to The Boathouse & Field Club – an exclusive Martha’s Vineyard tennis and pool club — for a morning of activities and swimming with other children. She had applied sunblock to Henry’s arms and made sure to clip his floaties to the outside of his bag, where they would be visible to the club’s counselors, she recalled in a video statement played in court Friday.
A few hours later, her husband, Stephen, received a call from the club: There had been an incident with their son. The parents rushed to the club, but there was nothing to be done. Henry had already drowned in the club’s pool, prosecutors said.
At the hearing at Dukes County Superior Court, The Field Club’s general manager pleaded guilty on the club’s behalf to a charge of involuntary manslaughter in Henry Backer’s death. The plea comes after the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office determined that the actions of the club and its employees — who left him in a pool with no adult specifically charged with watching him — were so negligent and reckless that they were criminal.
“This is not the story of a tragic accident,” Stephen Backer said in the video impact statement. “This is the story of a crime.”
David Meier, a lawyer representing the Backer family at the hearing, said, “From day one, the priority for Henry’s parents and family has been about the truth, about transparency, and about accountability.” (Ellie and Stephen Backer did not attend the hearing.)
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