'They let him die': Parents slam Martha’s Vineyard country club after son, 3, drowns in pool

‘We never saw our son's eyes open again’

According to reports, Henry Bowman Backer was not wearing any floaties when he was left alone in the pool by a counselor. Judge Mark Gildea said, “There is no sentence that can be imposed that can justify what has happened,” as reported by The Daily Mail. The child’s father Stephen Backer, in a victim statement, said, “We never saw our son's eyes open again. He was already brain dead”, adding, “We placed our vibrant, sweet, smart, loving boy in the care of The Field Club and they let him die.”
 
The Field Club general manager Scott Anderson pleaded guilty to negligence, wanton and reckless conduct, saying, “We had one responsibility as an organization on that day and that was to return Henry back to his family and we failed on every possible level”, as reported by The Boston Globe. The family’s lawyer too shed light on the incident saying, “From day one, the priority for Henry’s parents and family has been about the truth, about transparency, and about accountability.”  

‘Did not think for a second that I was putting him in danger’

Henry’s mother Ellie, who is the head of strategic human resources at Elliot Investment Management, said that she had clipped the floaties to her son's bag. Cape & Islands assistant district attorney Elizabeth Sweeney, on the other hand, told the court that a counselor at the Kids Club told a state trooper, “It was the three-year-old child’s responsibility to remember to wear his floaties.”
 
According to reports, the counselor at the club left Henry to attend to other children, and no other counselor was assigned to him. While sharing her side of the story, Ellie said, “When I dropped Henry off at the Field's Club's Kids Club that Monday morning. I did not think for a second that I was putting him in danger. Why would I?” adding that she applied sunblock to her child, pinned his floaties to his backpack and hoped that he would make new friends. Apparently, Henry did not have the floaties on him. He reportedly spent the morning playing 'I Spy' in the swallow end of the pool with two other girls and a counselor. The girls had reportedly asked for some swimming goggles when he left Henry alone. The reports revealed that Henry had drowned when they returned. There was no floating line separating the swallow end of the pool from the deep.