The family of a young Memphis bride-to-be is mourning her drowning death at a July 4 party in Bartlett.
Other party-goers pulled the unresponsive woman, 23-year-old Darian B. Towns, from the pool and began doing CPR to try to revive her. Bartlett Fire Department officers arrived just before 2 a.m., followed shortly by Bartlett Police Department officers.
The party was at the Bruton Parish Cove home of Trey McCracken, 39, who said he and some women at the party were sitting on the deck by the pool when another woman came outside and saw Towns at the bottom of the pool. He called 911 while one of the females jumped into the water to pull the petite Towns out.
McCracken said they had been drinking alcohol since the party began around 11:30 p.m. July 3, and he didn’t know how long the woman was under water.
An ambulance took Towns to Saint Francis Hospital in Bartlett, where she was in critical care and transferred to the intensive care unit. Medical professionals pronounced her dead at 7:25 p.m. July 4.
Bartlett police are still investigating the incident. Currently, based on information from the medical examiner’s office and the police investigation, they have found no reason to believe there was any foul play. A toxicology report on Towns’ body should be available in about eight weeks.
Someone also stole the victim’s car from the party that night, but police quickly arrested a suspect, Isiah Stenson, for the theft and recovered the vehicle. The police investigation determined that the woman’s drowning and the car theft were not connected.
The victim was a White Station graduate and track star, and more recently she was a cosmetology student who dreamed of becoming a makeup artist. She was engaged to be married in August.
Her mother, Donnell Towns, said she will be taking her middle daughter back to their hometown of New Orleans, La., for burial.
Anyone having any information on this case is asked to contact Bartlett Police Detective D. Webb at (901) 385-5529 Ext. 2104.
