TURLOCK, CA - A mother of six spoke on the phone for 45 minutes with met she met on dating apps while her two-year-old daughter drowned in a pool.
The woman, 45-year-old Kelle Anne Brassart, was convicted of second-degree murder and child neglect in the September 2025 death of her daughter Danielle Pires, according to the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office. Police responded around 3:30 p.m. on September 12 to a home in the 4500 block of Fireside Drive for a report of an unresponsive child in a swimming pool.
Upon arriving, police found the girl in the pool. They immediately began life-saving measures before responding paramedics rushed her to a nearby hospital. Doctors later pronounced her dead.
After call 911, Brassart did not jump in the pool to rescue her daughter, prosecutors said. She claimed she was unable to get to her daughter because of a leg injury that required her to use a wheelchair. However, in-home video showed she was able to stand and walk around the house without the wheelchair. So also had a walking boot and crutches.
Brassart was also able to drive and supposedly attend nail appointments, Law & Crime reported. As police were investigating the drowning, the defendant appeared to be intoxicated.
Investigators found full and empty bottles of liquor hidden throughout the home. She had a blood alcohol content level of .246. Danielle's father reportedly told Brassart she was not allowed to drink alcohol while watching the little girl. Instead of supervising the girl near the pool, she was in the master bedroom chatting with men she met on dating apps.
A courtroom report states that Brassart testified at a pretrial hearing that she had asked her daughter to let the dogs outside. Danielle followed the dogs outside into the backyard and was unsupervised for half an hour before she hopped into the pool. The two-year-old was seen on video struggling in the water before she drowned. She was one week shy of her third birthday.
"This was the result we were hoping for and believed in," Deputy District Attorney Sara Sousa said in a statement. "She not only failed in her duty of care for her child, but she did it in a way that was so reckless and indifferent to human life that her conduct amounted to that of second-degree murder."
Brassart's attorney said the incident was an "accident" and that she thought the child was inside. Prosecutors disagreed, saying there was no excuse for her behavior. "This is a case where the defendant knew, and she didn't care," Sousa told jurors in closing arguments. "She didn't care that her daughter was at risk. She didn't care that she wasn't watching her because all she wanted to do was be selfish and get drunk."
This was not the first time Brassart was accused of neglecting her kids. One of her other children spent nearly a week in the hospital after ingesting medication, prosecutors said. As a result, Brassart had to take a parenting class about the dangers of leaving young kids unsupervised.
Brassart will be sentenced on February 5. She faces between 15 years in life in prison.
The woman, 45-year-old Kelle Anne Brassart, was convicted of second-degree murder and child neglect in the September 2025 death of her daughter Danielle Pires, according to the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office. Police responded around 3:30 p.m. on September 12 to a home in the 4500 block of Fireside Drive for a report of an unresponsive child in a swimming pool.
Upon arriving, police found the girl in the pool. They immediately began life-saving measures before responding paramedics rushed her to a nearby hospital. Doctors later pronounced her dead.
After call 911, Brassart did not jump in the pool to rescue her daughter, prosecutors said. She claimed she was unable to get to her daughter because of a leg injury that required her to use a wheelchair. However, in-home video showed she was able to stand and walk around the house without the wheelchair. So also had a walking boot and crutches.
Brassart was also able to drive and supposedly attend nail appointments, Law & Crime reported. As police were investigating the drowning, the defendant appeared to be intoxicated.
Investigators found full and empty bottles of liquor hidden throughout the home. She had a blood alcohol content level of .246. Danielle's father reportedly told Brassart she was not allowed to drink alcohol while watching the little girl. Instead of supervising the girl near the pool, she was in the master bedroom chatting with men she met on dating apps.
A courtroom report states that Brassart testified at a pretrial hearing that she had asked her daughter to let the dogs outside. Danielle followed the dogs outside into the backyard and was unsupervised for half an hour before she hopped into the pool. The two-year-old was seen on video struggling in the water before she drowned. She was one week shy of her third birthday.
"This was the result we were hoping for and believed in," Deputy District Attorney Sara Sousa said in a statement. "She not only failed in her duty of care for her child, but she did it in a way that was so reckless and indifferent to human life that her conduct amounted to that of second-degree murder."
Brassart's attorney said the incident was an "accident" and that she thought the child was inside. Prosecutors disagreed, saying there was no excuse for her behavior. "This is a case where the defendant knew, and she didn't care," Sousa told jurors in closing arguments. "She didn't care that her daughter was at risk. She didn't care that she wasn't watching her because all she wanted to do was be selfish and get drunk."
This was not the first time Brassart was accused of neglecting her kids. One of her other children spent nearly a week in the hospital after ingesting medication, prosecutors said. As a result, Brassart had to take a parenting class about the dangers of leaving young kids unsupervised.
Brassart will be sentenced on February 5. She faces between 15 years in life in prison.
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