ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – St. Petersburg Police detectives have arrested Desiree Rentz, 30, in connection with the death of a nine-month-old boy in her care last July. Rentz faces charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and misrepresentation of a childcare license resulting in death.
The arrest stems from an incident on Thursday, July 25, 2024, when officers responded to an apartment at 5628 Lynn Lake Dr. S., The Reserve at Lake Pointe Apartments, at 1:46 p.m. for reports of an unresponsive baby. The infant, identified as nine-month-old Timothy David Smith, born October 26, 2023, would not wake up from a nap.
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According to the investigation, Timothy was in the care of Desiree Rentz at the time of his death. Detectives learned that on the day of the incident, Rentz was allegedly operating a daycare with more than a dozen children in her one-bedroom apartment.
Further investigation revealed that Rentz had misrepresented herself to parents, claiming to be a licensed daycare operator. Both the Florida Department of Health and the Department of Children and Families (DCF) confirmed that Rentz never held a valid daycare license. The licenses she displayed were reportedly for temporary foster care, with a capacity for only one child.
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The Medical Examiner’s Office autopsy confirmed that the infant was administered cough syrup, a medication not recommended for children under the age of four, without the knowledge or consent of his parents.
Rentz was taken into custody with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service. She is currently being held on the aforementioned charges.
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