Martha’s Vineyard Club Pleads Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter of Child

The Boathouse & Field Club in Edgartown, Mass. was sentenced to five years of probation, during which it cannot host water activities for children under the age of six, and will have to pay $100,000, which will be donated to the Red Cross to create a water safety training fund. The ruling is in connection with the death of 3-year-old Henry Bowman Backer, who drowned there while attending a “Kids Camp” on July 26, 2021.

The Boathouse & Field Club, a private members club in Edgartown, Mass. on Martha’s Vineyard, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of 3-year-old Henry Bowman Backer, who drowned there last year, the Cape Cod Times reported. The club was sentenced to five years of probation, during which it cannot host water activities for children under the age of six.

“It’s [the club] closed with respect to the people we are concerned about, and that is young children,” said District Attorney Michael O’Keefe in a phone interview with the Times.

The club will also have to pay $100,000, which will be donated to Red Cross to create the Henry Bowman Backer Water Safety Training Fund, which will provide lifeguard and water safety training on Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod, the Times reported.

David Meier, attorney for the victim’s family, said the fact that the club pleaded guilty speaks for itself, the Times reported.

The boy drowned while attending a “Kids Camp” on July 26, 2021, the Times reported. The camp was being overseen by young people (ages 15-20) who were not equipped to deal with water safety concerning a 3-year-old, said O’Keefe.

However, management was more responsible for the lapses which led to the death of the child more than the young staff, O’Keefe told the Times.

“This was a wrenching case for everybody involved in it,” said O’Keefe.