A Florida father, Joshua Ruiz-Martinez, 32, has been charged with aggravated manslaughter after allegedly leaving his infant daughter alone in the bathtub to play video games. The tragic incident occurred on April 21, 2024.
According to an arrest affidavit, Ruiz-Martinez was taking care of his baby daughter when he decided to give her a bath because she was “fussy.” The baby had eczema, and he thought the warm water would help soothe her. He placed her in the tub with water up to her stomach and then left the bathroom, claiming he was gone for only three minutes to get a bottle. However, when he returned, he found the baby unresponsive, lying face down in the water.
Police later examined Ruiz-Martinez’s electronic devices and found discrepancies in his statements. Investigators discovered that he had turned a walk-in closet in his apartment into a gaming room. During questioning, Ruiz-Martinez initially told officers he had spent his day taking care of his daughter and playing video games.
However, police checked his gaming history and found that he had been actively playing the game “Path of Exile” at the time his daughter was in the tub. Data showed that he made multiple transactions and advancements in the game during the period he claimed he was tending to his child. One of the gaming timestamps showed he was playing just two minutes after putting the baby in the water, contradicting his statement that he only left briefly for a bottle.
Another crucial timestamp revealed he was still playing the game just two minutes before calling 911 to report the drowning. Investigators concluded that Ruiz-Martinez was engaged in the game until moments before finding his daughter unresponsive.
Further evidence showed that after the incident, he posted about his daughter’s drowning on the messaging app Discord. In another message, he stated that law enforcement had not told him what happened and warned others never to leave their children alone.
When confronted with the timestamp evidence, Ruiz-Martinez became emotional and reportedly said, “I killed my daughter for a game? Please tell me I did not kill my daughter for a game.” After further questioning, he admitted to being responsible for her death but continued to give conflicting statements.
Ruiz-Martinez was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child. He is currently being held without bond at the Osceola County Jail as the investigation continues.
