The Liberty County Sheriff's Office said Domingo Quintana's wife and three kids were hospitalized Monday morning, after a near-drowning incident in the pond located on the family's multi-million dollar Dayton estate.
Friday's emergency Child Protective Services hearing was focused on the well being of the children, ages 6, 11, and 15. They will stay in CPS custody at least through the weekend because the hearing on their custody was actually reset to a later date.
However, there was an extended hearing on requests by both Quintana and the mother to visit the kids.
In court, it was revealed that the children's mother is still in the hospital. The youngest child, six, had been released. Court testimony indicated the two older children were medically released but remained in the hospital, waiting for transfer to a mental healthcare facility.
Case workers testified they were reluctant to let either parent visit with the children, given that a criminal investigation is ongoing, and additional interviews were still to be conducted.
However, upon questioning by the judge, the children's attorney and CPS workers who have spoken to the kids said they had different reactions. The CPS workers said in court the kids asked to see their mom but did not ask to visit with their father. One CPS case worker who testified said the two older children had "negative" reactions when asked if they wanted to visit with their father. She said the youngest child seemed "neutral" on the idea of seeing the father.
Case workers said all the children asked about the well-being of their mother.
It was just Monday that Quintana called 911 to initially report that his wife may have done something bad to the kids. Authorities who arrived on the scene found the mom in the family's pond, and the children were on the ground but wet.
For now, the judge granted a one-hour supervised visitation with the mom, but declined to grant the same for the father.
The attorney for the mother asked that the children be released to their maternal grandparents. The judge will rule on that at a later hearing. No criminal charges have been filed against either the father or the mother. The Liberty County Sheriff's Department said it was still investigating the case.
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