SPARTANBURG, SC (AP) – Authorities say they have charged a mother with involuntary manslaughter nearly two years after her 9-month-old boy drowned in a bathtub.
Spartanburg County deputies said in a news release that 37-year-old Kimberly Wallace was drunk in July 2014 when she put her son in the bath. She called 911 around 4:30 a.m. to report the baby was dead.
Coroner Rusty Clevenger says Jaidan O’dell Wallace died from asphyxia with respiratory insufficiency secondary to fresh water drowning.
A police report says Wallace initially told investigators a toddler in the home put the child in the bath without her knowing.
Deputies say it took nearly two years to gather the evidence to make sure the case can stand up in court.
Wallace is charged with involuntary manslaughter and neglect. It wasn’t known if she had a lawyer.
