Brookland, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – A Brookland mother is facing a felony manslaughter charge for her one-year-old son’s death, after police said he was left unattended in a bathtub for 14 minutes.
According to a probable cause affidavit, on Sept. 7, Brookland police officers were sent to the Logan Street and Wagner Place apartments for an unresponsive infant.
Officers went inside and found 31-year-old Courtney Newsom attempting CPR on a one-year-old child lying in a bedroom. First responders arrived on scene and continued lifesaving measures until the child was taken to a hospital.
Newsom told officers that before they arrived, she was bathing her children and left the room for between 60 to 90 seconds. The affidavit said that upon her return, Newsom found her son lying on his back with water over his lips and nose. That’s when she got him out and started CPR.
On Sept. 13, Brookland police were notified that the child had died at 6:35 p.m. Five days later, on Sept. 18, police conducted a Mirandized interview with Newsom at the Brookland Police Department.
Police asked Newsom what happened the morning of Sept. 7. According to the affidavit, she said she got up at 6:55 a.m. and was going to call into work to take her children to the doctor, as they had been sick, noting that her son seemed better. After putting the children in the bath, she left the room to put her daughter’s phone in her backpack.
Newsom said she then texted her mother, thinking she had only been out of the room for a minute, but claimed to have lost track of time as she was gone for 14 minutes.
“The reason I know this is because I texted my mom the first time at 7 a.m. and called her when I found my son at 7:14 a.m.,” Newsom told police.
Police concluded Newsom was out of the bathroom for 14 minutes, leaving the children unattended for that duration, the affidavit said.
A warrant was issued for Newsom Oct. 8. She was arrested by police and booked into the Craighead County Detention Center on Oct. 11.
On Oct. 15, Newsom appeared before District Judge David Boling, who found probable cause to charge Newsom with homicide (manslaughter/recklessly causes death), a class C felony, and two counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, a class B misdemeanor.
While a temporary bond of $35,000 cash/surety was originally set for Newsom, Boling modified the bail to be $15,000 cash/surety, noting a lack of criminal history, her hiring a local attorney, and a “large family presence” in the courtroom. It was also noted that another child of Newsom’s still resides in the home following a Department of Human Services investigation, which was ruled in Newsom’s favor.
The online jail roster shows that Newsom bonded out a few hours after her Wednesday hearing. She is scheduled to be back in court on Nov. 25.
