In the quiet town of Portage, Indiana, a heartbreaking story unfolded, forever changing the lives of a young family. Two-year-old Grace Asmeralda Rodriguez, a little girl who found joy in reading books and playing with bubbles, dinosaurs, and tomatoes, passed away on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. Born on June 4, 2020, in Wyandotte, Michigan, Grace was the cherished daughter of Nicos A.
and Abigail Rodriguez and a beloved sister to her brother, Derek.
On that fateful February day, while at home with her mother, Grace wandered into her mother's bedroom. There, she found a 9 mm handgun and accidentally shot herself. Despite being rushed to Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago, Grace succumbed to her injuries hours later. The incident led to an investigation that would bring further sorrow to the grieving family.
In the wake of the tragedy, Grace's mother, Abigail Rodriguez, faced legal consequences. She was charged with neglect of a dependent. According to police reports, Abigail stated that she and her daughter were in Grace's bedroom when the toddler walked into her mother's room. She heard a gunshot and rushed to her bedroom to find Grace wounded on the floor. Abigail explained to investigators that she typically kept the handgun in the kitchen during the day and on her nightstand at night but had forgotten to move it on the day of the incident.
Subsequently, Abigail Rodriguez, then 29, entered into a plea agreement. She agreed to plead guilty to a reduced count of neglect of a dependent. The proposed deal would result in a suspended sentence of three years on probation, with credit for time already served, allowing her to avoid additional jail time. A Porter Superior Court Judge took the plea agreement under consideration for a later decision.
