5-year-old Atlanta girl drowns at pool party weeks before 6th birthday

ATLANTA — A five-year-old metro Atlanta girl drowned at a birthday pool party just weeks before her 6th birthday, family members said.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Layla Gigger was invited to a friend’s birthday party at an apartment complex on Moreland Ave. on July 19. Her mother, Antwanesha Fulton, told Channel 2 Action News that she brought Layla, her 1-year-old and 1-month-old babies to the party, which was hosted by a former neighbor.

TRENDING STORIES:

• 2 of the top hotels in the world in 2024 are within driving distance from metro Atlanta
• Check your ticket! Someone in Georgia is $2 million richer!
• Uber driver shot, killed in DeKalb months after being discharged from U.S. Navy

When the babies started to get cranky, Fulton said she started to pack the children up. She said one child’s mom encouraged her to stay and then offered to watch Layla until Fulton could get the younger children home. Fulton said she hesitated, but the mom promised to keep an eye on Layla.

Fulton said about 10 minutes later when she got home, she got the call that Layla had drowned. She said that when she got the call, she hadn’t even had the time to get her other children out of their car seats.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Fulton rushed back to the apartment complex, where people were attempting to give Layla CPR. The child was rushed to the hospital, where she died on July 21. Her sixth birthday would have been August 10.

“She was a talented, beautiful, and sweet little girl whose confident and heartwarming spirit touched everyone around her,” her uncle, Laron Gigger, wrote on GoFundMe. “Layla’s presence in our lives was a gift, and her absence leaves an unfillable void.”

Fulton said the family has contacted a lawyer.

Channel 2 Action News is not identifying anyone else involved because no one has been charged with a crime.

You can contribute to two GoFundMe accounts set up to take care of funeral expenses HERE and HERE.

Father of pregnant Gwinnett teen says ex-boyfriend charged with murder ‘didn’t show any love’

©2024 Cox Media Group