Florida Mom & Boyfriend Arrested After Her 2 Sons Drowned In Pool, Cops Say

Authorities in Florida have charged a mother in connection with the deaths of her two sons who allegedly drowned in a pool while swimming unsupervised, police said.

Wildline Joseph, 23, was reportedly arrested Saturday in connection to a May 22 incident in which her sons Branario Minto, 5, and Ja'Kye Joseph, 6, died in a community pool at the Silver Palms Condominiums in North Lauderdale. Police said the pool was near the boys' residence.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office reported that a relative of the boys discovered the children unresponsive in the pool and rushed them to a local hospital, where the siblings were pronounced dead.

The boys had been submerged in water for almost two hours before being found, according to Miami's WTVJ-TV.

Surveillance video obtained by police allegedly depicts the young brothers running to the pool area without supervision roughly two hours before they drowned. Investigators said the pool was gated and locked, but the boys may have climbed the fence.

The incident report also theorizes that Joseph might have been sleeping when the boys drowned.

Sgt. Don Prichard of the Broward County Sheriff's Office told the press: "Detectives said Joseph failed to provide proper care and supervision for the brothers, which made her responsible for their deaths."

Authorities have charged Wildline Joseph with two counts of aggravated manslaughter of a child, according to the sheriff's office.

In May, Miami's WSVN-TV quoted Joseph as saying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. They're only five, and they're only six. I lost my babies too early. Branario was supposed to graduate on the 28th, but it is what it is. I'm sorry. I didn't get to save them. I'm so sorry. If I was there, I could have saved them."

Authorities also reported that Joseph's boyfriend, John Lynn Jr., 24, was arrested on the same charges on September 3. Police said Lynn is not the boys' biological father, but he was allegedly living with the family when the siblings drowned.

The sheriff's office further reported that authorities in May removed the couple's two other children, a one-year-old and an infant of undisclosed age.

According to the Miami Herald, the Florida Department of Children & Families repeatedly investigated Joseph over accusations of abuse and neglect. The Herald reported, "DCF investigators fielded six reports that the boys had been abused or neglected between 2015 and 2018, records show. There was a seventh report two days before the boys died."

Joseph and Lynn Jr. are reportedly each held on a $250,000 bond.

Read more: South Florida Sun Sentinel, WTVJ-TV, Fox News, WSVN-TV, Local 10, Miami Herald, Broward County Sheriff's Office, WKRN