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Police arrest father for allegedly trying to drown his children on beach in Connecticut

Both children are still in the ICU

Kelly Rissman
Saturday 22 June 2024 21:00 BST
Ocean Ave and Dawson Ave in West Haven, CT where a police officer spotted a man ‘deliberately drowning’ his children
Ocean Ave and Dawson Ave in West Haven, CT where a police officer spotted a man ‘deliberately drowning’ his children (Google Maps)

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Louise Thomas

Louise Thomas

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A West Haven, Connecticut father was arrested after being accused of “deliberately drowning his children” in the Long Island Sound.

A West Haven Police Department officer heard “significant screaming” at 2.30am on Saturday morning while he was patrolling the area near Ocean Avenue and Dawson Avenue. He then saw two small children and an adult man in the water.

The man was later identified as Romney Desronvil, 41.

As the officer entered the water, Desronvil reportedly moved farther from the officer with his children while yelling at the police to “stay back.”

Desronvil “was deliberately drowning his children,” the police department said in a release.

Officers immediately entered the water, about 100 yards away from shore.

The officer who first responded to the incident was able to rescue both of the children, the release said. The children received “life saving measures” and they were transported to the ICU, where they remained as of 9.30am.

Desronvil, from Queens, New York, is in West Haven Police custody. The charges for this “heinous act” are pending, police said.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

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