Girl's drowning leaves a lesson on heaven

By LEANORA MINAI

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 23, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Linda Bell gathered the preschoolers in a circle on the floor and read aloud a newspaper story about the death of their 3-year-old classmate, Tyesha Ellis.

The children sat silent, even when their teacher paused to turn the page. When Mrs. Bell was done, they peppered her with questions.

"Is she coming back?" one child asked.

Another wondered, "She wasn't breathing was she, Mrs. Bell?"

Tyesha is in heaven, Mrs. Bell told the 15 boys and girls in Tyesha's class Thursday at Prayer Tower Christian Academy in St. Petersburg.

Police say Tyesha drowned Wednesday while she played at North Shore Beach with her foster mother, Juanita Bethune, 35.

Tyesha was learning how to swim. Her foster mother was standing in waist-deep water, tossing Tyesha a few feet in front of her and having her paddle back. They also played a game in which Bethune lifted Tyesha into the air, then dunked her under water.

Too much water got into Tyesha's lungs, preventing her from being able to breathe, police said. Oxygen to her bloodstream was cut off, and Tyesha lost consciousness.

Detectives talked with Bethune on Thursday and later said that charges are not likely because the incident was a tragic accident.

"There's nothing at this juncture that suggests in any way that she was mistreated or that the dunking action was problematic or excessive in any way," said Sgt. Mike Puetz, head of the homicide squad.

The Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy Thursday, but Dr. Laura Hair listed the cause and manner of death as pending while she waits for results from toxicology and tissue tests.

Tyesha's mother, Princess Ellis, 19, and Bethune, both of St. Petersburg, were too upset Thursday to talk about Tyesha or the accident.

Mrs. Bell, Tyesha's teacher and the school director, said Tyesha's foster mother was a protective and "lovely parent."

She enrolled Tyesha in the preschool in February after taking her out of another school because, among other reasons, the children watched soap operas on television.

"She had a lot of questions for me," Mrs. Bell said.

Mrs. Bell talked with Bethune at the hospital late Wednesday. She said Bethune told her that Tyesha was having fun, playing and splashing in the water with her and her cousins.

Bethune said she got distracted when the children splashed her. She looked for Tyesha but could not find her right away. She grabbed at the murky water, felt Tyesha and pulled her up, Mrs. Bell said.

Tyesha told her foster mother she was okay but collapsed.

Dr. Albert Saltiel, associate director of pediatric critical at All Children's Hospital, said Tyesha probably did not hold her breath when she went under water and inhaled.

"If she panicked and breathed in water, then within seconds you could become disoriented and then pass out," he said.

Saltiel said parents should be compulsive about watching kids near water.

"You have to watch them like hawks," he said.

Mrs. Bell said she will miss Tyesha's laugh, her braided hair with pretty bows and wide smile that flashed her tiny teeth.

"Tyesha was my baby," she said. "God needs little angels as well as big ones."

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