ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A woman was arrested for the death of a nine-month-old boy from 2024 who was in her care at an unlicensed daycare, the St. Petersburg Police Department announced.
Desiree Rentz, 31, was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and misrepresentation of a childcare license resulting in death.
According to SPPD, officers were called to an apartment around 1:46 p.m., regarding an unresponsive baby who would not wake up from their nap on July 25, 2024.
The nine-month-old baby was left in Rentz’s care at an apartment at the 5600 block of Lynn Lake Drive South.
Officers said on the day of his death, Rentz was running a daycare with more than a dozen children inside a one-bedroom apartment.
During an investigation, detectives learned that Rentz misrepresented herself to parents as a licensed daycare operator, SPPD said.
DCF and the Florida Department of Health confirmed Rentz never had a daycare license, and the licenses she displayed on the wall were for temporary foster care with a capacity of one.
Officers said an autopsy was conducted and confirmed that the baby was given cough syrup not recommended for children under the age of four, without the parents’ knowledge or consent.
