East Haven Dad Charged With Manslaughter In Infant's Tub Drowning: PD

EAST HAVEN, CT — An arrest has been made in connection to the tragic and untimely death of infant Angel Josiah Rodriguez, who was found unresponsive in a bathtub in an East Haven home on Oct. 6, 2024, police announced Tuesday morning.

On the night of Oct. 6, Elizabeth Portocarrero was driving from her job in Stamford to East Haven to pick up her children, Angel, seven-months-old and his 3-year-old toddler brother. They were in the care of their father, 29-year-old Angel Marcus Rodriguez.

The baby and his brother lived with their mother in Ansonia, with their father sometimes responsible for their care while Portocarrero was at work.

On the way, Portocarrero got a phone call that "terrified" her.

That Sunday night, at around 9 p.m., firefighters and police went to a Redfield Avenue address for a pediatric emergency call. When they got there, first responders found the infant Angel "unresponsive after being left unattended in a bathtub," police said.

"Medics from the East Haven Fire Department attempted life-saving measures on scene before the infant was transported to Yale New Haven Hospital by AMR," East Haven police spokesperson Capt. Joseph M. Murgo said at the time. "Despite best efforts of the EHFD, AMR, and Yale New Haven Hospital staff, the child tragically died."

The investigation was assigned to the East Haven police's Investigative Services Division and was led by Detective Monique Colbert.

The many months-long investigation revealed that the child’s father, Rodriguez left two young children, one being the victim, unattended in a bathtub, Murgo said Tuesday.

"When the child was discovered unresponsive in the bathtub by another family member, Rodriguez was found in a bedroom down the hall talking on his phone," Murgo said. "Rodriguez advised investigators that he left the bathroom briefly while Angel was reclined in an infant bathing chair while the faucet was on a trickle. Family members on scene performed CPR on the child until East Haven Fire Department medics arrived and took over life-saving measures."

On Dec. 3, 2024, the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner officially determined Angel’s cause of death to be a drowning.

Colbert, who Murgo said "worked tirelessly with the States Attorney’s office," submitted an arrest warrant affidavit seeking Rodriguez’s arrest. That warrant was approved last Friday.

Monday night, Rodriguez was taken into custody at his East Haven home, Murgo said, and was formally charged with second-degree manslaughter, two counts of risk of injury to a child, and second-degree reckless endangerment.

Held on a $100,000 bond, he's being arraigned Tuesday.

"The East Haven Police Department extends its deepest condolences to the family of Angel Josiah Rodriguez. We hope this arrest brings some measure of accountability and helps Angel’s family in their pursuit of healing," Murgo said. "This heartbreaking loss has deeply affected all involved. We are grateful to our first responders and investigative personnel for their dedication to this case, and we continue to stand with Angel’s family as they grieve."

"I left my children with the person I thought I could trust."

In a heart-wrenching exclusive interview with Patch, Portocarrero shared that the only way in which her children's father helped her was to babysit the kids on occasion.

"The truth of the matter is I am a hard-working single mom and the provider for my children. My life is work and the kids. Their dad doesn’t give me a penny. The only help from him is watching the kids in his mother's house," she said. "I left my children with the person I thought I could trust."

Read Portocarrero's story here.