No Charges Filed in Toddler’s Drowning

Prosecutors have decided not to file criminal charges against a 41-year-old woman whose 2-year-old son drowned after falling off a Port Hueneme jetty in December.

Diana Smith of Port Hueneme was under investigation for possible child endangerment after her son, Auguste, disappeared while they were walking their dog Dec. 23.

Smith immediately reported her son missing and authorities did an extensive search of the area, but did not find him.

The boy’s body was found a day later about 100 yards offshore near a lighthouse in Port Hueneme.

The Port Hueneme Police Department conducted an investigation and referred the case to the Ventura County district attorney’s office.

Police said it appears the dog wasn’t on a leash and Smith may have been chasing it when her son fell into the ocean. There were no witnesses and authorities say the boy’s mother suffers from diagnosed mental health troubles.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Patricia Murphy said she declined to file charges because she could not prove that Smith knew the danger she was putting her child in by allowing him to roam near the rocks unsupervised.

Smith was convicted of misdemeanor child endangerment in 1997 for dropping Auguste on a cement driveway. She was sentenced to four years’ probation.