Child left to drown in Florida community pool; meanwhile, a doctor allegedly watched from the side and did nothing for a full seven minutes

A woman is facing an aggravated manslaughter charge after a seven-year-old boy in her care drowned in a swimming pool in Florida. Sukanthini Subbiah, 48, allegedly stood by and did nothing while Khushil Bandi struggled in the water, leaving him in the pool for more than seven minutes.

The incident reportedly occurred at the Everbe Clubhouse pool. Subbiah, a physician who lives in Louisiana, was in the Everbe community visiting family at the time. Subbiah told investigators that her son had been playing with the neighboring twins and that, on April 10, she was permitted by the mother of the twins to bring Khushil, his twin sister, and her own son to a play date at the community pool, according to WFTV.

The play date quickly turned into a nightmare. Surveillance footage showed Khushil entering the pool at 6:19 p.m., and within a minute, the young boy was seen drowning, according to investigators.

Khushil wasn’t pulled out of the pool for seven minutes

Despite the desperate situation, Khushil was left in the pool for more than seven minutes, according to investigators. During that time, Subbiah allegedly watched the seven-year-old drown but did not enter the pool herself. Instead, police say that the doctor sent other children into the pool to retrieve him.

Investigators stated that her decision to “rely upon other seven-year-old children to attempt a rescue constituted a course of conduct demonstrating a gross and flagrant disregard for the decedent’s safety.” They also called the incident “more than an unfortunate accidental drowning.” 

Being a doctor and the only adult responsible for the well-being of Khushil at the time, investigators claimed that Subbiah should have had the knowledge to recognize the danger and act accordingly. However, her decision not to act “allowed the decedent’s submersion and oxygen deprivation to continue until another adult ultimately performed the rescue she had failed to undertake.”

Subbiah was charged with aggravated manslaughter and voluntarily handed herself in to officers and was booked at the Orange County Jail on Monday. Her defense attorney, Rajan Joshi, claimed that she was cooperating with the authorities and was planning on fighting the charges.

“Accidents do happen every day. We don’t see criminal liability in this case,” Joshi said. The attorney declined to comment on the timeline of events or claims made by investigators but said that Subbiah had “dedicated her life to saving people’s lives, has a good heart, and never had any problems with the law.”