Tears after guilty plea over toddler drowning in bath
A Levin woman looked to the skies and cried outside court minutes after admitting she killed her toddler.
In the High Court in Palmerston North last week , the woman pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter after neglecting her duty to provide the necessary care for her child.
The child, who had a history of seizures, drowned in a bath at home on October 25, 2012.
The woman, who has name suppression, had two knives on the stove which she was preparing to use to take cannabis.
The child soiled their nappy, so the mother removed it and placed child in bath.
She then went outside to have a cigarette, where she talked to a friend and watched another child play for about 10 minutes.
When she returned to the bath, her child was dead.
Justice Young gave the woman her first strike warning and remanded her until a future date for sentencing.
Water Safety New Zealand the the chief executive Matt Claridge said there were two or three baby bath-related deaths a year.
‘‘The message is really simple: always maintain hand contact and never leave the bathroom.’’
Figures from Water Safety New Zealand show eight people drowned in baths in 2012 and that 29 per cent of people who drowned at home were younger than 4 years old.
A campaign by Water Safety New Zealand and Plunket, where parents are given a nonslip bath mat at Plunket’s Well Child 5-month check-ups, has been running since 2010.