Aurora day care provider charged in child’s drowning

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Police responded to this house at 2735 Squaw Valley Trail in Aurora on Tuesday morning for a report of a child that had apparently fallen into an above-ground swimming pool. The child, Abigail Holland of Aurora, was pronounced dead at Rush Copley Medical

Updated: March 24, 2012 11:31PM

A 37-year-old Aurora woman is facing a felony charge in the August drowning death of a 2-year-old girl.

On Thursday, the Will County state’s attorney’s office charged Tracy Kennedy, of the 2700 block of Squaw Valley Trail, with felony endangering the life of a child and misdemeanor operating a child care facility without a license.

Prosecutors said Kennedy left 2-year-old Abigail Holland in an unsafe environment, which caused the girl’s death around 10:40 a.m. Aug. 2. Abigail drowned in the backyard pool at Kennedy’s home.

Kennedy told officers that about 5 to 10 minutes before calling 911, she noticed the girl was missing. She told police she found that an interior door leading to the attached garage was open, and a garage door leading to the backyard also was open.

Kennedy then checked the pool and found Abigail in the water, police said. Kennedy pulled the child from the pool, yelled for her 13-year-old son to call 911, and began administering CPR.

Aurora Fire Department paramedics arrived on the scene and rushed the child to Rush-Copley Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Police said Abigail might have walked up the stairs to the pool deck and opened an unlatched gate leading to the pool. The pool is surrounded by a fenced-in deck.

According to DCFS spokesman Kendall Marlowe, Kennedy was the only adult home at the time of the incident. At the time of the drowning, she was caring for seven children, ranging in age from 10 months to 9 years. Three of her own children — ages 5, 8 and 13 — were also home at the time. Four biological children were removed from Kennedy’s home following Abigail’s death.

Marlowe said that about two months before the incident, DCFS had found that Kennedy was operating without a license and ordered her to stop caring for other children, Marlowe said.

Kennedy applied for a license on June 21. Marlowe said at the time of the drowning, Kennedy’s application was still being reviewed.

Will County prosecutors said Thursday that Kennedy was expected to surrender to Aurora police soon.

If convicted of the felony charges, Kennedy could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. The misdemeanor charge could result in up to one year in prison, plus fines.