Mother of 8-Year-Old ‘Violently Sucked’ into Houston Hotel Pool Files Wrongful Death Suit

The mother of an 8-year-old Texas girl who died over the weekend after being “violently sucked” into a gap in a hotel’s pool system has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the hotel seeking damages in excess of $1 million.

Houston police said that Aliyah Jaico was swimming with family members on Saturday, March 23 in the lazy river swimming pool at the DoubleTree by Hilton Houston Brookhollow hotel. She was reported missing and found hours later inside a large pipe in the pool area, police said. She was pronounced deceased by paramedics.

A lawsuit filed by Jose Daniela Jaico Ahumada, Aliyah Jaico’s mother, says that Ms. Ahumada began frantically searching for her daughter at 5:20 p.m. Hotel management denied Ms. Ahumada’s request and explained that police would have to be present to view the video surveillance. At 5:45, Ms. Ahumada called 911 and reported her daughter missing.

Aliyah Jaico’s body was discovered wedged in the pipes of the malfunctioning pool equipment, the lawsuit says.

Ms. Ahumada’s lawsuit names Unique Crowne Hospitality D/B/A Doubletree by Hilton Houston Brookhollow as defendant. The lawsuit alleges that Aliyah Jaico’s resulting injuries and death were directly and proximately caused by the hotel’s negligence and/or a defective condition on the hotel’s premises.

“All the evidence is going to point to this hotel (running) an establishment with many violations,” the family’s attorney, Richard Nava with Nava Law Group, said at a press conference. “The pool was not in working order.”

Hilton said in a statement to Houston TV station KTRK-TV that the property is independently owned and operated by a third party.

“”Hilton does not own, manage, or control the day-to-day operations of the property and does not employ any of the property’s staff or its third-party operators,” the statement said.

Hilton said in the statement that is is “cooperating fully with all authorities.”