Renovations to begin on Fall River pool

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WPRI) - The Fall River public pool where a woman drowned in 2011 is scheduled to be renovated.

According to The Fall River Herald, renovations to the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Pool in Lafayette Park are slated to begin Monday.

The city will take down the existing slide and the pool's deep end will be reduced from 12 feet to 5.5 feet. They hope the improvements will make the pool safer.

The body of Marie Joseph went undetected in the Veterans Memorial Pool for two days following her death in late June 2011. Investigators say it was hidden in several feet of murky water.

Two former managers with the Department of Conservation and Recreation pleaded no contest last Tuesday, to charges in connection with the drowning .

Former DCR Regional Director Brian Shanahan and former DCR District Manager Jeff Carter were charged with knowingly exposing children to risk, by operating the state run pool on June 27 and 28, while the body of Marie Joseph sat in the bottom of the pool under 12 feet of cloudy water.

• Fall River pool death ruled an accident
• Woman's body found in Fall River pool

Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter investigated the case, and said the pool water was too cloudy for the facility to operate safely.

Shanahan and Carter are not charged in connection with Marie Joseph’s death. Both men have since resigned from the DCR under pressure.

They changed their plea in court - admitting to sufficient facts. Both received one year probation. Charges will be dismissed if they stay out of trouble for one year.

"Although the sentences which the court pronounced were not exactly what we requested, nevertheless it is important to note that the defendants did admit their wrongdoing and the case has been resolved quickly. I think both the admissions and the quick resolution are positive for the community going forward," District Attorney Sam Sutter said in a statement to Eyewitness News.