A hotel management company has placed the blame on the parents of an 8-year-old girl after a tragic incident in which the child was sucked into a pool pipe and drowned.
On March 23, Aliyah Lynette Jaico and her family were enjoying an afternoon of swimming at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Houston. During this time, the young girl suddenly disappeared, prompting immediate concern and a frantic search by her family.
According to a civil lawsuit filed by Jaico’s family, after searching for the missing girl for approximately 30 minutes, they approached the hotel’s staff and requested that they review security footage to aid in locating her. However, the staff reportedly refused to comply with this request until the police arrived on the scene.
Local authorities were not contacted until nearly an hour after Jaico was initially reported missing. Tragically, her body was eventually discovered inside a pipe deep within the pool’s mechanical systems, indicating she had been sucked into the complex workings of the pool infrastructure.
The family subsequently filed a lawsuit against the management companies that operate the hotel, alleging that Jaico’s death was the “direct result” of negligence on the part of the hotel in maintaining a safe and functioning pool environment.
In response to these allegations, Northwest Hospitality Services, LLC, one of the management companies, filed documents on Wednesday asserting that Jaico’s family had themselves “engaged in negligent acts and/or omissions that proximately caused the alleged injuries and damages.”
This argument echoes similar claims made in April by Unique Crowne Hospitality, another company named in the lawsuit, which also suggested that the family bore responsibility for the incident.
Jaico’s family has strongly refuted any suggestions that they are to blame. Richard Nava, the attorney representing the family, addressed these accusations in March, emphasizing that the mother was present and attentive at the time of the incident. “A lot of people are making comments about her [the mother]… that she wasn’t there, she was missing or she may have been in the hotel room. None of that is true,” Nava stated firmly.
Further details from Nava suggest that Aliyah Jaico may have been attempting to rescue her 5-year-old sister from being sucked into the same pipe. The younger girl was eventually pulled out of the pool by a 13-year-old cousin, but by then, Aliyah had already disappeared.
Nava recounted the horrifying circumstances of the discovery: “Her poor little body was contorted when she was sucked into this hole and pipe 20 feet back. Her body was inside of the motor when she had to be extracted. They had to break up concrete in order to extract her, cut pipe. It was absolutely horrific.”
This tragic incident has not only resulted in the devastating loss of a young life but also a legal battle over the responsibilities and duties of those involved in ensuring the safety of hotel facilities. The case continues to unfold, with both sides presenting their arguments and seeking justice for the tragic loss of Aliyah Lynette Jaico.
