Mass. Officials: Cloudy Pool Shouldn’t Have Opened

July 26, 2011 by

Massachusetts officials say a murky state-run swimming pool where a woman’s body went unnoticed for two days should not have opened the day she drowned.

Edward Lambert, commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, said Wednesday that three employees were asked to resign for their roles in the decision to open the Fall River pool despite cloudy water.

He released preliminary findings of an investigation into the June 26 death of 36-year-old Marie Joseph.

Investigators say surveillance video showed Joseph going down a water slide into the deep end, surfacing briefly before going under with no struggle. Her body was found floating two days later.

Fall River Mayor William Flanagan tells the Associated Press that a city health inspector who checked the pool has been fired.