Background: A section of the 800 block of Humble in Odessa, Texas (Google Maps). Inset: Joan Reyes de Jesus (Odessa Police Department).
A Texas woman is unlikely to see the outside of a prison cell after putting 1-year-old twins in a bathtub, leaving the bathroom to go watch TV, and then falling asleep.
Joan Reyes de Jesus was ordered to serve two life sentences in prison after being found guilty of two counts of murder, regional NBC affiliate KWES reported. She will be eligible for parole after 35 years.
De Jesus was 34 years old when she was caring for the two kids on Oct. 16, 2024, on the 800 block of Humble Road in Odessa, a city located in western Texas. She “was hired by the mother of the babies specifically for their care,” the Odessa Police Department said.
At some point, de Jesus placed the twins in a bathtub, “turned on the water, and left the bathroom to watch television,” police added. “After an unknown amount of time, de Jesus went to sleep. There is evidence to show that approximately 30 minutes (or more) passed before family realized that the babies were in the bathtub.”
Someone in the home called 911, and officers and emergency personnel responded to the home. When they got there, they found the babies suffering from an apparent drowning.
The kids were rushed to an area hospital, but both were pronounced dead.
According to an affidavit obtained by the TV station, officers testified during de Jesus’ trial about her actions when the babies were found. She apparently seemed “stoic” and emotionless and didn’t try to help the kids.
De Jesus reportedly told investigators when interviewed that she placed the babies in the running water as she often did, and did not plug the drain, which lets the water rise. However, a scrunchie — a fabric-wrapped band normally used to pull hair back — blocked the drain, she said.
The mother of the twins hired de Jesus to watch the kids during the day as she would sleep, but she admitted that de Jesus watched them about “90 percent of the time” while she worked, sold drugs, or partied, local ABC affiliate KMID and Fox affiliate KPEJ reported. She was later charged with manufacturing or delivery of a controlled substance.
Prosecutors said in their closing arguments that the facts of the case “are pretty simple. The babies were put in a bathtub… and were not watched.”
“We know they were left in the bathtub unattended… water running… they couldn’t walk,” prosecutors added, per KMID and KPEJ. “They couldn’t even cry out for help.”
