Toddler Drowns In Bath Tub After Mom Got Towels For ‘One Minute’

A 22-month-old baby girl died early last year after her mother left her in the bath unattended for "one minute," officials were told Tuesday.

Joely Eastham-Jones had gone to fetch a towel when her daughter, Mia Olivia O'Sullivan, slipped under the water in a bathtub in their home in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, in the afternoon of Jan. 17 last year, the inquest at Ruthin had heard, NorthWalesLive reported.

The toddler had died despite efforts to resuscitate her by Eastham-Jones and paramedics as well as further attempts at a hospital, the report said. A coroner recorded a conclusion of accidental death.

Eastham-Jones had been giving her daughter a bubble bath during the incident, North Wales Central and North Wales East coroner John Gittins said, citing a voluntary statement provided by the mother to Llandudno police station.

The inquest had been told that Eastham-Jones asked if her daughter wanted to come out of the bath, but O'Sullivan wanted to keep playing with the bath bubbles, 7 News reported. The mother then left the bathroom to grab some towels.

"She could hear Mia talking and singing in the bath next door. She shouted her [Mia's] name to confirm she was there," Gittins was quoted as saying by NorthWalesLive.

Eastham-Jones ran back to the bathroom when she heard the pink brush O'Sullivan had been playing with hit the side of the bath, according to the coroner.

According to Gittins, Eastham-Jones had found her daughter lying face down in the water. The baby was described as "floppy and not breathing" after being lifted out of the bath, the inquest was told.

"She was left for a very, very short time by her mother in the bath, and sadly the circumstances which occurred thereafter were those which resulted in her passing," Gittins was cited as saying by 7 News.

Following the incident, Eastham-Jones placed O'Sullivan on the floor and performed CPR, which resulted in the baby throwing up water and vomit after four of five compressions, the inquest heard.

The mother proceeded to call 999 and paramedics arrived within five minutes to take the child to Glan Clwyd Hospital located in the nearby town of Bodelwyddan. O'Sullivan was then flown to Royal Stoke University Hospital (RSUH) in Stoke-on-Trent.

O'Sullivan had been "left in the bath for approximately one minute plus by her mother," RSUH consultant pediatric intensive care specialist Mark Bebbington said in a statement. She died at 3:03 a.m. the following day despite being given medical care, which included oxygen and adrenaline.

Dr. Jo McPartland, a pediatric pathologist at Alder Hey Children's Hospital on Merseyside, carried out a post-mortem examination on the toddler and found ischemic damage to the brain, kidneys and heart. She said the cause of death was multiple organ failure, consistent with drowning.

"I would like to record my very sincere condolences to the family of Mia in her tragic loss," Gittins said.