A New York man has been charged with attempted murder after authorities said he tried to drown two young children at a Connecticut beach over the weekend.
Romney Desronvil, 41, of the Queens section of New York City, was arraigned Monday in Milford Superior Court, where a judge set bail at $2 million and ordered him to return to court on July 1. He was detained on charges of attempted murder, reckless endangerment and risk of injury to children, a court clerk said.
The children, twins under the age of 3, were in intensive care at Yale New Haven Hospital. Their conditions were not immediately available Monday. It was not clear whether the twins are related to Desronvil.
Mayor Dorinda Borer of West Haven, where the incident occurred, said in a social media post Sunday that the children had made “slight progress” and one of them was taken off intubation. She called the events “unthinkable.” She said the children's mother rushed to be with them early Sunday morning.
Desronvil's public defender, Ashley Miller, declined to comment after the arraignment.
In a report released Monday, West Haven police said Desronvil told them he was in a “tumultuous relationship” with the children’s mother and admitted to taking the twins from their home in New York.
He told officers he recently found “witchcraft material” belonging to the children’s mother that showed she was “wishing ill on another male,” the report said. He also was yelling on the beach that the mother was going to kill him, authorities said.
Desronvil told officers he drove onto the beach to speak with another child who had called him and said the twins' mother was going to call police on him, the report said. He said he panicked when he saw police and took the children into the water, officers said.
Police said in the report that the mother told them that she believes Desronvil has mental health problems.
A West Haven officer on patrol saw a vehicle on a local beach at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday and heard screaming coming from the water, police said. As the officer went into the water, Desronvil and the children were drifting further into Long Island Sound, authorities said.
“It was obvious at this point that the male ... was deliberately drowning his children,” police said in a statement.
Other officers and firefighters entered the water and they were able to grab the children and bring them to shore, where lifesaving measures were performed, police said. They were rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Three officers also were treated for minor injuries, officials said.
Borer, the West Haven mayor, said she met the children's mother over the weekend.
“I wanted to let her know that even though they are far from home they have an entire community here that cares for them and we will provide whatever she needs; a hotel, meals, clothing, or a big hug,” she said.
