Russell Tongay: Father of The Aquatots

 

When I sit down to compose a blog I like to try to do that in one sitting with things quiet all around me. Currently I live with two small toddlers and by the time I have time for quiet I am usually too exhausted to think! Let me say, doing this at almost fifty is quite different than doing it in my twenties. At any rate I had finished researching a blog today and I thought I would just spend the rest of the day researching cases and over the next few days, when I may have some down time, I would put them together. But, then I came across this case and I wanted to go ahead and pull it all together.

This case has been on my list for a very long time and I have never just really had a desire to dive deep into it. To be fair I think that is because on the surface all of the little information that I found all basically said the same things. This would have a lot to do with the fact that this case took place back in the early 1950's. Today I dug a bit deeper if for no other reason than the fact that I was tired of finding a case to grab me. I was also feeling that the information that I was finding sounded a bit odd and possibly not completely accurate. Then I found an appeal record that settled things for me but sadly it appears that many who discuss this case, even today, still rely on some reports indeed were not accurate.

I am unsure whether I feel that many of the articles from the time bordered on Yellow Journalism or whether the reporters were basing their story on the word of a police officer or investigator on the case. It appears that there was almost an immediate arrest in this case, although it does also appear that Russell Tongay was released on bail awaiting trial. Before I get into the story of this case I will say that there are holes in the research and that while I agree with the ultimate conclusion through the courts, I disagree on the initial charges as well the stories told in the media.

As a young child Russell Tongay had been a competitive swimmer. It was not made clear why he had stopped but he obviously did and at some point married Elizabeth Meyer. Their first child was Russell George “Rusty” Tongay Jr. Information is sketchy, and sometimes just flat out wrong, but Rusty would die in 1945 when he was 18 months old. Keep in mind that there is a report that Rusty died in 1951 but I found the 1945 from other information but also from the findagrave.com website. His cause of death also seems to be questionable. The site in which stated his death year as 1951 also stated that he drowned in a bathtub. Other information says that Rusty died from “multiple brain hemorrhages” that may have been claimed to have been caused by a fall down the stairs. There seems to be no more information about this.

A year after Rusty died the couple had another son that they also named Russell Jr. He went by the name of “Bubba.” The following year in 1947 they had a daughter, Kathy. Little is known about the children or the family until 1950 when Russell had what most would call a publicity stunt involving his children. A boat entered the Mississippi River about twenty-two miles north of St. Louis. Russell was in the boat and he followed his children who were four and almost three at the time as they swam the river. Kathy made it about five miles while Bubba made it the full twenty-two.

It was after this that Russell began touting the children as “The Aquatots.” The media was mesmerized. It is then that we get a little light into how these two small children could do the things they were doing. It was said that Russell had began teaching his children to swim almost from birth. It was said that by ten months old Kathy could swim comfortably in water twenty foot deep. Both children could swim long before they could walk. It is unclear if just how rigorous training for the children had come to light at this point or if this revelation was not made until later.

After the Mississippi River swim Russell announced that the children would be swimming the English Channel and the family headed to Europe. However, the family did not expect what they would endure there. In order to do this feat the family had to have permission. It was said that a media company had actually offered the family $20,000 to “perform” but Europe refused to give permission for swim citing that they felt it was basically child abuse to do so. It appears that Russell then went to authorities in France (on the other side of the Channel), to get their permission. Like Europe, France too refused to allow the swim citing many of the same reasons. There were rumors that Europe was considering filing charges against the couple for the neglect and abuse of their children but instead the family headed back to the United States and settled back in Florida where they had previously lived. It was said that the “trouble” in Europe and France had made its way in the media to the United States. What was not made clear was whether those in the United States had the same sentiment as those across the ocean.

By 1953 the children were nearly six and eight. While there is little information regarding how Bubba felt about the extreme training that he was apparently “forced” to do and it is unclear whether anyone mentioned it at all before events that would occur that May. It is unclear whether events started on May 5^th or May 6^th. I say this because different information states that while the incident occurred on the 5^th it would not end until the following evening while other things state that the “incident” began and ended on the same day. I know I seem to be a bit cryptic and it is not like me to stop myself from jumping ahead but I think it is extremely important to not do so here. Whether it was the 5^th or the 6^th it seems that Russell and Kathy were at a pool where there was a thirty foot high diving board. Both of the Tongay children had practiced on this board many times, it was part of their routine. Witnesses would later say that Kathy cried that she did not want to do the dive, or apparently participate in the training at all.

As I stated it was later that people came forward and began talking and they would say this behavior from Kathy, in her resistance to training was typical. They would also now say that Russell's insistence was just as typical. So while she did not want to do the dive she did so at his insistence. But, instead of really doing a dive, let alone to the level she would have known her father expected when Kathy dived into the water she had done what we call a “belly-flop.” She got out of the water crying and would complain that her back hurt.

Instead of checking her out those around said Russell seemed irritated and while they left that pool, they proceeded to another pool at a local hotel where “training” would continue. Witnesses there would also say that Kathy complained of her back hurting and not feeling well. They would report seeing bruises on her body but it is unclear where those bruises were said to be located. It was said that witnesses would claim to hear Kathy say “Please, daddy, don't make me swim no more.” They would also tell investigators later that Russell had fed Kathy some “baby food,” which everyone would learn later was typical and that Kathy had vomited. It is not clear how long Russell and Kathy stayed at the pool, nor was it ever clear if Bubba was also with them during this time, but it was made clear that despite her complaints Russell continued to push her to do laps in the pool.

Here is where things get a bit sketchy. It was said that eventually Kathy would become sicker throughout the day and her even began having seizures. The first thing that I questioned and could not determine was whether medical treatment was ever sought for her, especially after she began having seizures. Secondly, there is confusion as to whether she died that same evening or whether her pain continued as her health deteriorated and she died the following evening. Her gravestone states she died on May 6^th, but again, I cannot say for sure if that was the same day as the incident or the following day. I also cannot say for certain where she died. It was not clear whether she died at a hospital under the care of a doctor.

It appears, although I cannot be certain, that Russell was almost immediately arrested and charged with second degree murder. It also appears that he was arrested and charged before an autopsy was conducted in which the cause of death was released. Due to the bruises on her body it was released in the press that Kathy had been beaten to death. As I stated earlier, I cannot say if this information had come from investigators and this was their belief at the time or if the media had projected this and “ran” with it.

As I was doing my research over and over again I would read this story about how this young child had the incident with the diving board, complained of pain, had bruises and then later died from being beaten by her father. Something did not sit right with me on that. Let me be clear that I am in no way excusing her father for his behavior, that day, or for things you will hear about in just a bit, but I honestly did not believe that he had beaten her to death. I believed by reading the story that it sounded more as if she had been severely injured by this dive and he had neglected to get her medical treatment. I became even more curious when I read that he was convicted at a trial and had been given a sentence of a mere ten years. This kept me digging a bit more and I am so glad I did.

First, when I dug a bit more I found a few references to the fact that the medical examiner had said Kathy's death had been caused by a ruptured small intestines. That being said, many of those same articles and websites continued to argue that Russell had beaten Kathy. Then I finally came across a 1955 appeal in the case. This is where you generally get good information and this one did not disappoint.

One thing that I was unable to determine is whether the prosecutors continued to attempt to charge Russell with second degree murder and gave the jury an option to manslaughter or if by the time of the trial they had changed their minds. Basically first degree murder requires premeditation where second degree is described as intentional but without premeditation. It is likely that the original theory was that Russell had beaten Kathy for whatever reason, but likely due to her resistance to the training and may not have planned to kill her. Manslaughter on the other hand, and where it applied here, involves what is described as “culpable negligence.” The latter seemed, even to me early on, seemed to be the more reasonable charge. Culpable negligence is when someone's actions put the victim at risk, or they fail to get help or treat the victim after an injury. In my opinion both of these things were present in this case. Even if I were to discover that Kathy may have been taken to a hospital and possibly died there the fact that between her complaints and the apparent bruising occurred Russell continued the training I would feel it would apply. In addition to this, his insistence in the training itself put her at risk. This was the charge in which a jury found him guilty, hence resulting in his ten year sentence.

While the defense argued that Kathy had been on this particular diving board many times and had he ability to dive successfully it did not seem to sway the jury. I am sure that they were also likely taken aback after learning not only about the vigorous training that Russell subjected his children but also in their health and diet. It was said that Russell, at least before Kathy's death, had readily admitted that his children were solely fed baby food. He argued that this diet kept them lean, which made them swim better. It was also said however that the lack of nutrients, as well as the amount of training they were subjected to had in some ways deformed their bodies. They were both described as having “abnormally deep chests, hollow bellies and sinewy (lean and muscular) legs.” These were things seen on the outside. Personally I can only imagine what their bodies were like on the inside when it pertained to the functioning of their organs.

As I stated earlier it is unclear how people in the United States felt about Russell's parenting of his children prior to Kathy's death but it was made clear after just what people thought. I found an article that stated after her death and while he was awaiting trial Russell had been released on bail and that the family were basically “in hiding” because of the feelings of the general public. I found it interesting that at the time it clearly stated that Elizabeth was still with him as it discussed that the family included Russell, Elizabeth and now their only remaining child, Bubba. However something else would later indicate that Elizabeth divorced Russell and claimed that he had been “stripped” of his parental rights.

I was not able to verify the divorce or the parental right issue. I can say that Elizabeth died in 1992, apparently still with the Tongay name. It was reported that Russell was released from prison in March of 1961 after serving less than six years of his ten year sentence. I found something that stated that after his release he remarried in California but it is alleged that the wife had the marriage annulled “because he took her life savings.” It went on to say that he then returned to Florida to live. I am unable to verify these reports and I am also unable to determine whether Russell is still alive, although that is extremely unlikely considering he would be over 100 years old.

Today the behavior that Russell showed with his children would have been nipped in the bud a very, very long time before it got to the point in which Kathy died. It is probably highly unlikely that the “stunt” on the Mississippi River would have occurred. There were plenty of pictures of the children showing their bodies and I am certain that would have raised alarms. I also believe that if this were to appear in society today that Elizabeth would have likely also been charged. I wonder if that was not the reason for her allegedly divorcing him later considering it did not occur while this man was obviously abuse her children, nor even after at least the first (some believe Kathy was the second) of her children died at his hands. Was there a threat to take her only remaining living child? Was there a threat of charging her with neglect for failing to protect her children??

I do not honestly believe that Russell Tongay meant for his daughter to die, hence why I have said I believe anything beyond manslaughter was inappropriate. There is no reason to believe that he would have wanted his daughter to die... in fact I believe it was likely just the opposite. I believe Russell saw his children as his cash cow and the only thing better than one cash cow is a second one. That being said, I do believe he abused his children and was unbelievable controlling and demanding. It is likely this behavior carried on into his relationship with Elizabeth. I found nothing that stated he was abusive to Elizabeth but it would not surprise me if those accounts were alleged. He deserved prison; he deserved to lose custody of his children; and he absolutely deserved to be punished for his actions, or lack of actions.