A 31-year-old mother has been arrested after her one-year-old son drowned in the bathtub following approximately 15 minutes of being left unattended in the water.
Courtney Marie Newsom was apprehended and is facing charges of felony manslaughter for recklessly causing her son’s death, along with two counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a minor.
Authorities were called to the family residence on September 7 in response to a report of an unresponsive baby. Upon arrival, emergency responders discovered Newsom administering CPR to her son in the bathroom.
Medical personnel took over resuscitation efforts and rushed the child to a nearby hospital for treatment. Sadly, the young boy succumbed to the incident on September 13.
During the initial police interview, Newsom, a resident of Arkansas, USA, claimed that she briefly left the child unattended while bathing him, returning to find him in distress within minutes.
In a subsequent interrogation with the Brookland Police Department, Newsom provided a conflicting account of the events, detailing a longer period of absence from the bathroom during which the child was left unattended.
A warrant for Newsom’s arrest was issued on October 8, leading to her detention on October 11. Following a court appearance on October 15, Judge David Boling set her bond at $15,000 (£11,300), which Newsom later posted. She is set to be arraigned on November 25.