ST. PETERSBURG – Detectives with the St. Petersburg Police Department have arrested Desiree Rentz, 31, in connection with the death of a nine-month-old child under her care in July 2024.
On July 25, 2024, at approximately 1:46 p.m., officers responded to a call about an unresponsive infant at an apartment located at 5628 Lynn Lake Dr. S., in The Reserve at Lake Pointe Apartments. The child, identified as Timothy David Smith, had reportedly not woken from a nap.
Investigators determined that Rentz operated an unlicensed daycare from her one-bedroom apartment, where she cared for more than a dozen children. She had falsely presented herself as a licensed childcare provider. The Florida Department of Health and the Department of Children and Families confirmed Rentz did not possess a valid daycare license. The documents she displayed were for temporary foster care and allowed for the care of only one child…