YOUNGSTOWN — The administrator of the estate of Londyn Cason, a small child who drowned in a swimming pool on Ridgelawn Avenue on Youngstown’s West Side in 2024, has sued Adrianne Hudson, the woman who was babysitting at the time, and the owners of the house for not having a fence around the pool.

Rochelle Hudson of Mineral Ridge, administrator of Londyn’s estate, filed the suit in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Thursday, naming as defendants Adrianne Hudson and the owners of the home, Richard C. Scott and Linda L. Scott, both of Miamisburg, as well as Albert Boykin of Youngstown.

Adrianne Hudson, 32, who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and felony child endangering in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court in the child’s death, is set for sentencing Friday. Mahoning County prosecutors are recommending that she serve eight to 12 years in prison.

Boykin, 33 of Boardman, was initially charged with misdemeanor child endangering in the case, but that charge was dismissed in January in Youngstown Municipal Court when officials there learned that Boykin was not Londyn’s parent or guardian, according to court documents.

According to a Youngstown police report, Adrianne Hudson was watching Londyn when she realized the child was gone. Hudson said Londyn and another child were playing in the front yard as she was talking to another relative.

“She stated that after talking for a few minutes, they noticed that (Londyn) was missing. They went around the back of the house and found her floating in the pool,” the report states.

“She advised that about five minutes elapsed between when she saw (Londyn) playing and when they found her floating in the pool.” An ambulance took the child to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital. Officers learned later that the child died.

A juvenile advised police he had driven up to the home on Ridgelawn Avenue and saw the two toddlers playing in the front yard. He said he was talking to Adrianne Hudson for about five minutes when he realized one of the two children was missing.

He went around the house and saw what he thought was a baby doll in the pool. When he looked closer, he saw that it was a child and pulled her out of the water.

LAWSUIT

The lawsuit alleges that the Scotts “owned, controlled and / or maintained the” home where Londyn drowned. The suit alleges that the Scotts “maintained and kept an above ground pool” at the Ridgelawn residence at the time Londyn drowned and “gave unrestricted access to the premises, including subject pool, to Londyn Cayson and defendants Adrianne Hudson and Boykin.”

It adds that the pool “was not properly completely surrounded by a fence or barrier as required by Youngstown ordinance 546.04(11).”

It states that on Sept. 29, 2024, Londyn Cayson while under the custody, care and supervision of defendants Adrianne Hudson and Albert Boykin, went unsupervised and tragically fell into the pool in the backyard.” The child was pronounced deceased at the hospital the same day, the suit states.

The Scotts “owed plaintiff Londyn Cayson, as an invitee, the continuing duty to maintain the premises, including but not limited to the … pool in a safe condition and to inspect the premises and warn of latent dangers.” The Scotts were negligent in that they “breached the duty they owed to Londyn Cayson by failing to inspect the premises, failing to use ordinary care and diligence in the design, upkeep and maintenance of said property,” the suit states.

Adrianne Hudson and Boykin were also negligent in that they “failed to supervise, instruct, warn and / or institute appropriate safeguards, thereby allowing Londyn … to go unsupervised,” the suit alleges.

The suit seeks more than $25,000 jointly and severally from the Scotts, Adrianne Hudson, Boykin and John / Jane Does.