A Loudoun County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court judge this morning denied bond for a Sterling woman charged with murder in the drowning death of her 8-month-old son.
The incident happened Sept. 10 in the Sterling home of Rosellena Pisani, 30. Fire Rescue crews were called to the Fessenden Terrace residence for a report of an unresponsive infant.
According to statements by Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Amelia Flynn during Friday morning’s bond hearing, Pisani placed the infant in a bathtub and left the water running with the intent to rinse him off. She then went to a nearby room to fold laundry and talked with a friend on the phone.
Her other children found the baby floating in the tub, which was overflowing. At Inova Lansdowne Hospital, the medical staff achieved a pulse and the child was transferred to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where life support was ended after brain functions could not be detected.
It appears that the tub began to fill when the baby’s 3-year-old sister stuffed toilet paper in the drain. Flynn said that investigators determined it would have taken between five and 20 minutes for the bathtub to fill to overflowing and that the baby was unattended by his mother during that time.
Flynn said Pisani blamed the 3-year-old for the death.
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After the incident, Pisani’s other three children were removed from her care by court order. She also was required to undergo counseling. Flynn said that Pisani has not fully complied with the conditions set in that case.
Pisani’s children also were removed from her home in 2024 when she was charged with failure to provide adequate support. While the details of that case, which ended in a dismissal, are not publicly available, Flynn said Pisani had the opportunity to learn from that experience.
Defense Attorney Thomas Soldan asked Judge Charles F. Koehler to release Pisani on bond, saying she was not a flight risk or a danger to others and could return to her work as an Uber driver.
Koehler denied the motion saying there were no conditions that could be imposed to assure the safety of the community.
In addition to homicide, Pisani is charged with two counts of child abuse/disregard for life and three counts of child endangerment.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 14.
