Baby Left Unattended Drowns In Bathtub While Mother Does Her Nails In Garage

Miami-Dade County -- A Florida mother is facing charges after her 7-month-old baby drowned in the bathtub while she was doing her nails in the garage.

Alyssa Carolyn Jimmie, 22, was arrested Wednesday and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child under 18.

Authorities arrived at Jimmie’s Southwest Miami-Dade home on May 20 at around 2:20 p.m. and found the infant unresponsive, NBC 6 reported. When questioned by cops, Jimmie said she ran a bath for the baby boy and her 3-year-old son.

Jimmie told investigators that she left the water running and wasn’t apprehensive about leaving her sons alone because she hadn’t used a drain plug, which meant the water would continue flowing down the drain, according to an arrest affidavit.

The mother said she went off to do her nails in an at-home manicure salon in the home’s garage, which is about 62 feet away from the bathtub.

Five to 10 minutes passed before Jimmie returned to the bathroom to find that a small face towel had clogged the drain and filled the bathtub with water. Her infant was unconscious in the water while the toddler was playing in a tub nearby, the affidavit said.

The affidavit said Jimmie took the infant out of the bathtub and started CPR. Since her phone wasn’t working, she said she went next door so her neighbor could call 911.

Jimmie also told investigators that her older son knew how to clog the drain with a towel so that water would fill the bathtub.

The baby was taken to the hospital, and doctors managed to restore his heartbeat. However, he was presumed brain dead.

The infant was pronounced dead on May 23.

An autopsy determined the baby’s cause of death as drowning and classified the manner of death as an accident, the affidavit said.

Jimmie "failed to provide 'the victim' with the proper care that a prudent person would consider essential to the well-being of a seven-month-old child," and her "negligence resulted in the untimely death of 'the victim,’” the arrest affidvait said.

Following her arrest, Jimmie appeared in court Thursday and faced a judge, according to WPLG Local 10. Her father, Cesar Jimmie, vouched for her character and said in court that she’s “a good older sibling. She’s always loved her children.”

Miami Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glazer set the mother’s bond at $10,000.

“It is a very sad set of events. I’m sorry for your loss,” the judge told Jimmie. “Make sure you stay in touch with your attorney and listen to what they tell you.”