An online fundraiser established to support the family of a three-year-old girl who drowned in a California reservoir has been removed, days after authorities announced they are investigating her death as a homicide.
Lailah Rosillo, of Modesto, was on a family camping trip on July 18 when she drowned at the Fleming Meadows Lagoon at Don Pedro Reservoir. Deputies with the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office initially received a call reporting the child missing, followed by further calls indicating she had been found unresponsive in the water with members of the public attempting CPR. Officers on a patrol boat took over CPR efforts, but Lailah was pronounced dead at the scene.
Tuolumne County Sheriff David Vasquez stated at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting that the case is being treated as a homicide. The specific circumstances that led authorities to this classification have not been disclosed.
Deputies are continuing to gather witness statements and are seeking photos and videos of Lailah on a boat or raft prior to her death. The Sheriff's Office released an image of a blue raft that Lailah may have been on, which appeared to show multiple people around the vessel. Vasquez noted that gathering all information from individuals present at the reservoir is a standard protocol when a child is involved in a death.
The GoFundMe page, created by Yolanda Muro who identified herself as a close friend of Lailah's grandmother, had raised over $13,000 for funeral and memorial expenses. Muro described Lailah as a child whose "smile brought happiness to everyone around her." The page stated that the family trip "became an unimaginable nightmare." Lailah is survived by two older siblings and a baby brother.
Lailah's aunt, Art Martinez, expressed her grief on Facebook, calling her niece's death "the most horrible thing possible" and stating her sister's pain is unimaginable.
