COPS: 'DUI MOM' CRASHES CAR IN CANAL, FLEES SCENE TO TAKE DRUNKEN BATH LEAVING DAUGHTER, 4, TO DROWN IN CAR

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

News, True Crime

4.2 • 8.1K Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A California mother is now charged with murder after driving drunk and killing her 4-year-old daughter.

Juliette Acosta, 26, crashed her SUV into a canal. The sound of the crash was loud enough to alert nearby residents, including Acosta’s uncle and a neighbor. Her Subaru SUV landed partially submerged in the water. Acosta’s uncle jumped in, helped her out of the vehicle, but could not find 4-year-old Reagan.

When officers arrived, Acosta was no longer at the scene. A deputy immediately entered the water to search the vehicle and found Reagan Herrin still buckled in her seat. With help from Acosta’s uncle, the deputy freed the girl and began CPR as an ambulance arrived.

Deputies later found Acosta at a nearby home, reportedly taking a bath. She was arrested and initially charged with felony DUI. Her blood alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit.

Acosta now faces charges of murder, drunk driving, and several related offenses. She remains in the county jail on a no-bail warrant.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

Derek Smith - Criminal Defense Attorney
Dr. Angela Arnold - Psychiatrist, Atlanta, GA. Expert in the Treatment of Pregnant/Postpartum Women, Former Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology: Emory University, Former Medical Director of The Psychiatric Ob-Gyn Clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital
Kimberly Cockrell - Victim Services Manager at Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) South Carolina; FB: Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Instagram: @maddnational
Bill Garcia - Owner of Bill Garcia Investigative Services; Facebook: Bill Garcia Investigative Services, Instagram @BGISInternational
Joseph Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics: Jacksonville State University, Author of "Blood Beneath My Feet," and Host of "Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan;" X:@JoScottForensic
Ben Dobrin - Emergency Response Diving Instructor and Instructor Trainer, Police Diver
Nina Burns - Reporter, KOVR CBS13 Sacramento; Instagram: @neeburr, Facebook: NinaBurnsReporter

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
0:07.0	According to police, the so-called DUI mom crashes her car into a canal, then flees the scene to take a boozy drunken bath, leaving her four-year-old little girl to drown in the car back in the
0:25.9	canal. I'm Nancy Grace. This is crime stories. I want to thank you for being with us. Tragedy strikes
0:31.8	near Modesto, California when 26-year-old Julieta Costa crashes her vehicle into an irrigation canal with her four-year-old
0:39.5	daughter Reagan still inside. But when police arrive, Juliet is nowhere to be found, and what they
0:45.9	uncover next stuns the community. Okay, crashing bad enough with your child in the car.
0:55.1	The car flipped in the water in a canal.
0:59.7	But why wasn't Mommy frantically trying to save her daughter?
1:04.0	And why did she flee the scene to go take a boozy drunken bath, leaving the baby in the car.
1:15.9	Joining me an all-star panel to make sense of what we were learning right now, but I want
1:20.7	you to listen to this.
1:22.1	Is it, is a baby strapped in?
1:24.5	Is it, or should we be looking in the water?
1:27.2	Like I didn't know what to do.
1:28.6	Acosta's Subaru SUV is upturned and partially submerged in the canal when Acosta's uncle arrives.
1:34.6	He jumps into the water helping Acosta get out of the vehicle but is unable to find four-year-old Reagan.
1:39.8	A neighbor describes seeing Julieta Costa and her uncle standing on top of the submerged vehicle, but there's no sign of the little girl.
1:46.6	The neighbor asks that the child is in the car or in the water, but Acosta doesn't provide an answer.
1:51.3	That from our friends at CBS 13, Sacramento, straight out to special guests joining us.
1:56.8	Nina Burns, reporter K-O-V-R-CBS 13 in Sacramento.
2:01.5	Nina, thank you for being with us.
2:03.0	First of all, I'm trying to get my mind around leaving a crash with your child in the backseat
	...

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