A once-trusted Bronx home day care is now the center of unimaginable grief.

As the NYPD investigates the death of 1-year-old River Wilson, who was found unresponsive in a backyard pool, urgent questions are being raised about hazards that were apparently missed by state inspectors at the day care. 

"The worst day of my life happened"

River was Ifiok and Ima Wilson's only child. They entrusted her to Ana's Butterfly Garden Family Group on Story Avenue in the Bronx, a state-licensed day care just steps from their home, and did so for close to a year.

"It might be me today, it might be me and my wife today, but what about the other families? We have other families that are still dropping their kids in the day care. So we need answers to our questions," Ifiok Wilson told CBS News New York Investigates' Mahsa Saeidi.  

"I walked her there. She was so happy, saying 'Hi' to everybody, all the neighbors," Ima Wilson said.

But not long after River was dropped off on Aug. 1, neighbors were at the family's door.

"And the worst day of my life happened," Ima Wilson said.  

"I didn't pick up anything. I just decided to run over there," Ifiok Wilson said. "I was screaming and I was panicking as well ... She was lifeless on the floor. The next thing, they put River on the stretcher and they put her in the ambulance."

River was dead less than two hours after she arrived at the day care. 

"I'm going to put the little baby in the ground, and I'm here," said Clement Usoroh, River's grandfather. "She was very joyful, and she infected anybody she worked with, because she's a very, very happy little child."

The pool in question

Police sources say the day care's caretaker, Ana Gonzalez, was cooking when she realized she had not seen River for about 20 minutes. She searched the home first, and then, sources say, she found her unresponsive in the backyard pool.

"How did she manage to walk from the side door to the poolside, which would definitely take some minutes and nobody was supervising, and nobody was aware?" Ifiok Wilson said.

The Wilsons say they only discovered there was a pool three weeks before River's death.

"I was shocked at the size of that pool, and they assured me that no one has access to this place," Ima Wilson said.

Access to pools is something the Office of Children and Family Services, or OCFS, is required to check. It's noted in a section on the state's inspection form.

At least eight times, from November 2022 to May 2025, OCFS inspectors checked off that the pool was in compliance. But just hours after River's death, they said it wasn't, citing the pool being too close to the property. In addition, they found that the pool's fence was too short -- 36 inches high, not 48 inches, as required.

"Such barriers must be of adequate height and appropriately secured to prevent children from gaining access to such areas," OCFS Inspectors wrote on Aug. 4.

Furthermore, the pool was too close to the property, according to the city's Department of Buildings.

"DOB has issued an OATH/ECB violation to the property owner for the pool," a DOB spokesperson said.

In total, OCFS inspectors found nine violations on Aug. 4, including obstructed corridors, failure to provide competent supervision, and failure to notify parents and OCFS about the death of a child.

The day care's license was suspended on Aug. 6, OCFS records show.

"When I searched Ana's day care and looked at the reviews, I saw nothing. Everything looked like it was OK," Ima Wilson said.

There was something else the family didn't know. Two years before River's death, there was another apparent oversight. In 2023, state inspectors wrote "Children cannot be left without competent supervision" at the day care.

The next month, the inspectors reported the issue was corrected.

So far, no charges have been filed

CBS News New York Investigates left multiple messages and a note for Gonzalez at the day care, but has not been able to reach her. OCFS records name her as the primary caregiver.

The day care's license, which was granted in 2018, has been suspended. The NYPD and the Bronx District Attorney's Office say Gonzalez hasn't been charged with a crime and the investigation is ongoing. 

"That was actually what attracted us because it's actually a licensed day care," Ifiok Wilson said.

Dr. DaMia Harris-Madden, who is the commissioner of OCFS, declined CBS News New York's request for an interview. Her office would not talk about past inspections or systematic oversight, but said, "The safety and well-being of all children in OCFS-licensed day care programs is our top priority."

CBS News New York has requested to speak with Dr. Harris-Madden to get clarity on the following questions:

• How did her inspectors apparently miss that the pool was out of compliance?
• What did they do when they previously found kids were not being supervised in 2023?
• How many day cares have pools, and why aren't parents told?

Saeidi has requested her public schedule because the Wilson family and the community deserve answers. The Wilsons and their attorney say the day care owner is not communicating with them. 

Wilson family wants to prevent future tragedies

River's family made her funeral at the church open to the public. 

"She loved going to church, she loved looking at the stained glass windows and saying, 'Wow, wow, what's that?'" Ima Wilson said.

Her parents want to spotlight apparent inadequacies in New York's oversight of day cares.

"If they had known that there was a violation, if that were easier to find, and they knew about the lack of supervision, and they were able to ask these questions before making the decision to put their daughter in this licensed facility, maybe things would have been different," James Williams, the couple's attorney, said.

"River was actually a light to my life," Ifiok Wilson said.

"The nurses stopping by dropping off my baby's ... my baby's footprints and handprints," Ima Wilson said. "Everybody's support has been immense. It gives like a glimmer of hope, just a glimpse of like ... a happy future without Ree Ree, without the sweetest person that was on this earth."