A St. Cloud father has been charged with aggravated manslaughter following the April 2024 drowning death of his infant daughter, which occurred while he was allegedly playing an online video game.
Authorities responded to the home on Steerview Street on April 21 after a report of an infant drowning. Despite life-saving efforts by St. Cloud Fire Rescue, the child was pronounced dead at HCA Florida Osceola East.
Joshua Ruiz-Martinez, the child’s primary caregiver at the time while his partner was at work, initially told Osceola County Sheriff’s investigators that he briefly left his daughter unattended in the bathtub to prepare a bottle, only to return and find her face down in the water. However, an investigation into his computer and phone records revealed he was actively playing the online game Path of Exile at the time, contradicting his statements.
Additionally, investigators uncovered messages Ruiz-Martinez sent via the Discord app falsely claiming that his daughter drowned in a pool. Hours after the tragedy, he messaged friends warning them to “never leave your kid with no one.”
During a recorded interview, Ruiz-Martinez was confronted with the digital evidence and admitted responsibility for his daughter’s death, saying “I killed my daughter for a game? Please tell me I did not kill my daughter for a game.”
An arrest warrant was issued Monday, and Ruiz-Martinez was taken into custody on Tuesday on a charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child.
