A 25-year-old Seattle woman has been charged with manslaughter after her 2-year-old son with Down syndrome died after he was found unconscious in a bathtub.
Nakeeya Arbogast laid her child face down in the bathtub, turned the water on and left the room, even though the child was unable to crawl, walk or stay seated by himself, King County prosecutors said in charging documents.
Though Arbogast said she didn’t mean to kill her son, prosecutors said family members had heard her threaten to kill her children before.
Arbogast called 911 on July 9 from her apartment in Northgate to report her son wasn’t breathing, according to court documents. The dispatcher told Arbogast to do chest compressions, which she carried out for over five minutes before first responders arrived.
Her son died in the hospital two days later due to prolonged CPR and hypoxic brain injury.
Arbogast said that while she was away from the bathroom, she changed the diapers of her other two children, got them each a bottle and a snack, and talked to the children’s father on the phone, according to court documents. She was not supposed to have contact with him because of a no-contact order related to his domestic violence conviction.
When she came back, the 2-year-old was not breathing.
Arbogast told police her child was only left in the water for a few minutes, but investigators found that it took more than 14 minutes for the bathtub to be filled with water.
She also told police the bathtub was full when she pulled the 2-year-old out but told her roommate the tub was actually overflowing, according to court documents.
Arbogast said she used to have a special chair for bathing the 2-year-old but left it at her old apartment because it got moldy. She also had stopped using it because it was uncomfortable for the child, according to court documents. She said she knew leaving her son unattended in the tub was unsafe.
Casey McNerthney, King County prosecutor’s office spokesperson, said Arbogast had no previous criminal history in King County.
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