After confessing to authorities that she routinely and negligently left her 1-year-old baby son in a fiIIed tub for several minute intervals, unattended, only for the child to drown after the water reached the top and overflowed, an Iowa mother is now in jail and faces multiple charges, including child endangerment resulting in death.
KayIa, a 21-year-old Iowa woman, was arrested on Wednesday after the death of her child, WayIon, earlier this year.
The investigation began on the last day of October, when the parent called 911 and reported that her son was unresponsive. When first responders arrived on the scene, they discovered the child had stopped breathing.
They rushed the one-year-old boy to the hospital, where doctors declared him dead. During the investigation, authorities discovered that the woman called 911 after waking up to find her child floating in the water, according to local news outlet WHO13.
During an interview with investigators, the young mother reportedly stated that she placed the child in the bathtub, plugged the drain, and left the water running.
Before falling asleep, the woman claims to have checked on the baby several times. According to police, the woman admitted to routinely and negligently leaving her child in a filled tub for several minutes at a time, unsupervised.
The woman also told investigators that when she awoke, she went to the bathroom and discovered her baby floating as the water overflowed.
The responding officers stated that the parent’s home was littered with trash, and they couldn’t find any food suitable for the baby. The 21-year-old mother is being held on $1 million cash bail, according to court records.
