Babysitter arrested in death of toddler who was found in koi pond

An Olivehurst woman, who was babysitting last year when the toddler under her care was found unresponsive in a backyard koi pond and later died, was arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and felony child neglect.

Eva Cheyenne London, 19, was arrested Monday morning by Yuba County Sheriff’s Office personnel for her role in the death of 10-month-old Steven Ryker Gerrtt Smith.

Detective Sgt. Tom Oakes said the sheriff’s office served a warrant Monday at London’s residence on Second Avenue in Olivehurst. Her bail was set at $100,000.

The child reportedly fell into the koi pond at his family’s house in the 1800 block of Baugh Street in Olivehurst on Aug. 29, 2016. His mother, Marissa Gardner, and her partner were at work when they were contacted by the sheriff’s department that their son had been in an accident and was at the hospital.

“We all got the phone call. It was the worst day of all of our lives,” said Geena Day, Gardner’s mother and the child’s grandmother.

Day said the child was resuscitated by a postal worker in the front yard before being transferred to Rideout Medical Center. She said London pulled Smith out of the pond and ran him to the front yard, where she flagged down the mail carrier for assistance.

Day said doctors were able to get Smith breathing but believed he had been underwater for too long to be able to live. Five days after the incident, Gardner and her fiance at the time decided to remove Smith from life support, Day said.

The family recently had a meeting with the Yuba County District Attorney’s Office and was told charges would be brought against London. Day and the family received a call Monday morning from the District Attorney’s Office confirming the babysitter had been arrested.

“We were prepared for it after we had our meeting in the D.A.’s office, but it was a huge sense of relief that this phase of our suffering was over,” Day said. “It’s part of the process. We have to go through this to be able to find any closure with it. So it’s a huge relief to know they had arrested her to begin the next stage of the process.”

Though she doesn’t know when London’s arraignment will take place, Day said the family plans on attending each court date.

According to the Yuba County Superior Court website, an arraignment date has not been scheduled for London. Deputy District Attorney Ashley Tuft said London’s arraignment will most likely be on Wednesday afternoon.