A young mother received a one-year prison sentence for leaving her infant son alone for 20 minutes to talk on the phone.
Olivia Elizabeth Miller, 24, will serve just under 120 days in a Michigan state correctional facility for the drowning of her 8-month-old son, Asher Johnson.
A judge credited 246 days of the sentence as time served.
Miller pleaded no contest in October to one count of involuntary manslaughter in her son’s death, according to Law & Crime.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to drop a second-degree child abuse charge she was also facing.
On November 22, 2023, Miller called 911 in Grand Rapids and reported that her son had drowned in her bathtub.
First responders arrived at the home and discovered the child lying face up on the floor. They began performing life-saving procedures, but the child died in the hospital.
When detectives questioned Miller, she stated that she had placed her son in a tub with a few inches of water before walking out of the room to flip her laundry.
She claimed she only left the room for five minutes, returning to find her son floating face up in the tub with his mouth full of water.
Miller also told the detectives that she attempted to resuscitate her son while waiting for emergency personnel to arrive.
According to investigators, Miller’s story changed during subsequent police interviews.
“Throughout the investigation, [Miller] gave varying stories of what occurred surrounding Asher’s death,” deputies wrote in a probable cause affidavit, which MLive reviewed.
Investigators obtained data from Miller’s phone and discovered that she was using it at the time her son drowned in the bathtub.
She reportedly started using it at 3:17 p.m. and used it for nearly 20 minutes straight before calling 911.
Miller texted her father about four minutes before calling 911, saying, “Just trying to talk while I have time while Asher’s taking a nap.”
She then reportedly called Asher’s paternal grandmother twice and told her that her son had drowned before calling 911.
Officials investigating Asher’s death discovered that he had been lying on his back on the floor for at least 20 minutes before first responders arrived at the house to provide treatment.
Miller’s attorney, Frank Stanley, informed local broadcaster WZZM that Miller’s actions demonstrated “no indication of intentionality.”
“This is a tragic situation,” he explained. “She has suffered tremendously emotionally from the death of her child—she loves that child.”
