Authorities ID pair dead in possible drowning

The woman and boy who died Saturday in a possible drowning at the Houston home of former Los Angeles Dodgers player Carl Crawford have been identified as Bethany Lartigue and 5-year-old Kasen Hersi.

She was not related to the child, said Lartigue’s brother, Brandon Lartigue. She also did not share a personal connection with Crawford, Brandon said.

“It has not processed yet,” Brandon told the Houston Chronicle

on Sunday. “We’re dealing with a lot of things right now because it’s unexpected — the death of someone who had a lot of promise in life.”

The Lartigue family originally was from Louisiana, Brandon said. Bethany most recently lived in the Dallas area, where she worked as a delivery driver and football player for the Arlington Impact, a professional women’s team, Brandon said. She eventually wanted to be a police officer, he said.

Houston police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said police were called at 2:40 p.m. on reports of a drowning at the home on the 1400 block of Mansfield in Acres Homes. The home is owned by Crawford, 38, a Houston native and former player for the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox and the Dodgers, according to property and business records.

Hersi was swimming in a pool on the property when he started having trouble breathing, and the 25-year-old Lartigue jumped in to try to save the boy, Silva said. They were found unresponsive and taken to Memorial Hermann Greater Heights Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

An official cause of death has not been released by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. The family is still questioning the circumstances of Lartigue’s death because she was a good swimmer, Brandon said.

“That’s something we’re trying to put together about what happened,” he said. “She wasn’t the type of person to be irresponsible.”

At the hospital, Brandon learned that there was some type of party at the house before police arrived. He said he didn’t know any details about the gathering. Police on Sunday said they could not release further information.

Brandon’s wife, Monique Lartigue, said the life-saving effort showed Bethany’s caring nature.

“Bethany loved kids, so it’s not surprising to the family that she would try to save this boy,” Monique said. “She always loved kids.

“Bethany is the life of the party. There was never a dull moment around her. She’s going to be greatly missed.”