Woman Arrested in Death of Autistic Girl in Doncaster Pond

A woman in her 30s has been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter and child neglect following the death of seven-year-old Nyla May Bradshaw, who was found unresponsive in a pond at Owston Hall Golf Course in Doncaster on March 30.

Nyla, who was autistic and nonverbal with no awareness of danger, was reported missing from the Skellow area of the city at 9:50 a.m. that Monday. She had been dropped off earlier that morning with a childminder, as her regular carer was unavailable over the Easter holidays. During an outing to a nearby park, the girl slipped through a gap in a fence and entered woodland adjacent to the golf course. The childminder raised the alarm, prompting South Yorkshire Police to launch an extensive search involving ground teams, drones and a police aircraft.

Officers located Nyla face down in the pond hours later. Emergency services rushed her to Doncaster Royal Infirmary, where she was pronounced dead at 1:18 p.m. despite resuscitation efforts. Initial police inquiries suggested the circumstances were non-suspicious, but further investigation into the events leading up to the incident prompted the arrest. The woman has been released on bail...