Florida school seeking answers in death of Jennifer Cabellero
A Florida school races to improve security and answer questions to the escape and death of a Down Syndrome student who eluded the watchful eye of six special needs workers and drown in a nearby pond..
Jennifer Cabellero
Jennifer Cabellero escaped from her Rogers Middle School PE class in Riverview and then managed to wander away from the school grounds, bypass a four-foot chain link fence and drown in a pond Monday afternoon.
The 20 student class has six teacher’s aides.
“I think that is a question that obviously we have to get answers to and that’s exactly what we’re going to be doing,” said Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia. “Obviously, this is something that we feel terrible over as a school district. I, as a superintendent, and the staff here, we cannot do anything to change what occurred but we have to do a full investigation so we can all understand this.”
“That is certainly a possibility,” said Hillsborough County Schools spokesperson Linda Cobb, on the chance someone may be fired. “We are waiting to see what the outcome of the investigation is, and then we will take action based on that.”
Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee said his office is working to determine what happened from the time Caballero left school until she was in the pond and if anyone may have seen her in between.
For five hours, the Sheriff’s Office searched for Jenny, an 11-year-old, 5-foot girl with dark pigtails, searching every locker, closet and room in the school.
Jenny was the youngest of three daughters; their father works in the farming industry, and their mother stays at home. Neither speaks English, and Jenny’s teen sister had to do most of the talking with deputies, neighbor Heather Boffo told the Tampa Bay Times.
[…] Tuesday, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office closed its investigation into Jennifer Cabellero’s death by releasing a report more than 700 pages in length. It was determined that no criminal charges be […]