Police charge Georgia woman in death of toddler daughter

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia woman was charged with felony murder for the death of her toddler daughter who was found in a retention pond at a metro Atlanta office park, police said Friday.

Sandy Springs police Sgt. Matthew McGinnis told reporters the child’s death was still being investigated but police “do not think it is accidental at this time.”

Officers were called Thursday evening to a report of a woman causing a disturbance near the office park north of Atlanta, McGinnis said, and they found a distraught woman “having some type of episode.” Then the child’s father arrived and asked her about their daughter.

McGinnis said the woman responded: “At the bottom of a pool.”

Police found 22-month-old Nirvana Oliver in the narrow retention pond. She was declared dead after being rushed to a hospital.

The girl’s mother, Asia Calabrese-Lewis, was jailed on charges of felony murder and child cruelty. It was not immediately known if she had an attorney who could speak for her.

Police have not said how the child got to the pond. An autopsy was planned to determine the cause of death.