KATY, TEXAS — Laura Nicholson was arrested in Florida on May 11, 2026, and booked into the Lee County Jail on two counts of reckless injury to a child in connection with the deaths of her two toddler daughters in a backyard pool in Katy, Texas. Investigators said Nicholson was taken into custody by the Violent Criminals Apprehension Team alongside the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force.

On Feb. 11, the two sisters, ages 2 and 3, were found unresponsive in a backyard swimming pool in the 21000 block of Creek Edge Court in Katy. The girls were flown to a Houston hospital, where they later died.

Nicholson told investigators she had fallen asleep on a couch while her toddlers were playing in the living room. She said she was woken up by screams from her mother, who had come home, found both toddlers in the pool, and called 911.

The children's grandmother left the home around 9:30 a.m. to run errands and returned shortly after 11 a.m., when she found both children unresponsive in the pool. Nicholson's father told investigators she falls asleep frequently, which he said causes issues.

The latch on the back door leading to the pool was not working properly, allowing the children access to the unfenced pool area. Nicholson told investigators the latch had been broken for two days and that her daughters would get out and run to the pool.

The medical examiner found cocaine and a cocaine metabolite in both children's blood and noted that any amount of cocaine in children of that age can cause serious bodily injury and increase the risk of death. The autopsies could not rule out or confirm drowning as the cause of death, according to the medical examiner. Autopsy reports list the cause of death for both girls as drowning and acute cocaine toxicity.