A.S. wrote on July 04, 2009 09:24 AM: I find it very hard to believe that this was purely an accident. This woman gave birth to this child and has raised her for her 5 short years of life. She knows exactly what she needs in terms of supervision and what her physical capabilities are or are not. I am having a hard time swallowing the negligence aspect of this case. I feel that mom knew exactly what she was doing...and knew what the end result would be. The reason for her doing it - no one can ever know unless she comes out and says it.

What mother (I don't care what your skin color, your age, or your education background is) would leave a 5 year old child (disabled or not) ALONE in a bathtub with THE DOOR CLOSED for 10 - 25 MIN while she watched TV?

This child could NOT fend for herself and her mother knew that. Due to her disability, the child's mental capacity was that of a 2 or 3 year old. I, for one, would NEVER leave a 2 or 3 year old unattended in a bathtub with running water for even 5 min behind closed doors.

In the end, this "mistake" cannot be undone. None of us were there to see the evidence for ourselves, but I have a tough time believing this is a matter of racism - the life of an innocent child was lost for no good reason at all. This mother's time will come in court and a jury of her peers will look at the evidence that was collected and make the best decision they are able to. Until then, may this little girl rest in peace.

Crystalyn wrote on July 03, 2009 10:05 PM: Excuse me for saying, but your article is quite bogus. It would be more accurate to state facts rather then speculations when concerning a death of a young child. Do you have children? Would you welcome your name being dragged around as if a piece of meat devoured by an animal. Remember there’s always two sides to a story and this is clearly one sided. Would that make you bias? I would think so considering you’ve taken the story of the Las Vegas police, who happens to have a reputation of being racist, and ran with it. The media often seems to contradict themselves by stating their providing news yet news is defined as information about recent events or developments. Your article may have been more factual had you added several missing details, would you agree? Perhaps that doesn’t matter to you right, the damage has already been done yet you’ve tainted a grieving mothers character by suggesting it wasn’t an accident. Sure, you’re probably again saying, you’re “stating the facts” yet and still, you’re not accurate.

Watching TV huh? That is hysterical that you would imply such a thing if you were not there nor the police. This was an unfortunate accident that you all have turned into a murder booking.

Oscar wrote on July 03, 2009 03:15 PM: ANOTHER black woman kills her young child. This is becoming everyday news.

sheilacatherine wrote on July 03, 2009 01:56 PM: So what are you saying Joan? Because she's black and you assume low income, she is somehow more deserving of leniency in leaving her handicapped daughter alone in an overflowing tub with the door shut? I guess you are making the assumption that someone found negligent of the same behavior who is NOT of color would receive more sympathetic treatment? It isn't her color here, Joan, it is the complete lack of supervision for a child totally unable to remove herself from the situation and the mother's apparent indifference. She was watching T.V. for goodness sake!!!!

darrin wrote on July 03, 2009 12:30 PM: Where's the father? WE are the father. The tax-payers.

Joan wrote on July 03, 2009 08:39 AM: Twenty-five minutes to fill the bathtub. B.S. Go fill your own bathtub and time it.
The cops are off on this one. The D.A.s' case by case basis has a lot to do with income levels.

JMF wrote on July 03, 2009 08:27 AM: Where's the father? He's getting his eyes checked. He fled long ago.

The Maury Show wrote on July 03, 2009 07:43 AM: Where's the father?

Skeptic Sam wrote on July 03, 2009 06:22 AM: Something smells fishy here. How do we know that this mother didn't do this ON PURPOSE and that this wasn't negligence? The child was 5 years old, had the brain capacity of a 2- to 3-year-old and obviously had special needs. You mean to tell me a rational parent would think it was okay to leave a special needs child unattended in a bathtub for 25 minutes? No one would think that was ok. I don't care how stupid you are. Unless, of course, you wanted to make it seem like an accident and purposely kill your special needs child because you were tired of caring for her. So you set it up so that the child can drown and you can claim it was an accident. In fact, I bet if you did a study, you would find out that a LOT of special needs children die in drownings (be it at a pool or in a bathtub) due to a parent's "negligence" because that gives the parent the best shot at getting away with it...

gary wrote on July 03, 2009 03:18 AM: Darn it - I was betting she was going to win "Mother of the Year" award.