Baby Drowned In Bath As Mother Chatted On Phone For 47 Minutes

A one-year-old baby drowned in the bath when she was left unattended while her mother chatted on the phone for 47 minutes, a court heard Tuesday. Sarah Morris denied manslaughter through gross negligence charges for the death of her daughter in 2015.

The incident took place at the woman's home in Greenfield near Holywell in Flintshire, Wales. The baby was reportedly in the bath with her twin brother when the mother left them and went out.

Mold Crown Court in Wales was told on the first day of Morris' trial by prosecutor Oliver Saxby QC that the woman left both the kids for "prolonged periods when she was chatting away." The prosecutor argued that Morris was unable to provide a "clear and consistent account" of the circumstances in which Rosie drowned. The 35-year-old was allegedly on the phone talking to her partner Sarah Swindells while the twins were in the bath.

The prosecution said the phone conversation only ended when Swindells suggested Morris to check on the children. According to reports, Morris at one time went and had a cigarette “out of a window."

“It goes without saying they (the twins) were in an extremely vulnerable position and in need of careful supervision,” Saxby said. “There were prolonged periods when the defendant was quite clearly not checking on them, chatting away and having a cigarette and was not aware of the danger they were in... The flat was small, but it wasn’t safe to leave them unattended... The call ended when her partner told her to go and check on the twins only for her to discover that Rosie had drowned in the time she was left unattended.”

The prosecution also said after discovering Rosie in the bath, Morris dialed a friend and spoke for 10 minutes. Despite the friend's suggestion to call emergency services, Morris ran into the street screaming for help. It was a neighbor who dialed 999.

The baby was taken to Glan Clwyd hospital in Bodelwyddan where she was declared dead.

During investigation, officials found bath seats in the bathroom but they were not used that day.

"Having decided not to use them, it was even more important that she supervised the twins in the bath (and) didn't allow herself to be distracted," Saxby said. "Parents make mistakes and can be distracted so that accidents happen."

However he added: "Leaving 13-month-old twins in the bath in these circumstances is gross negligence."