Dad saves toddler being held underwater in tub by mom as punishment, Florida cops say

A mom locked the bathroom door and held her toddler’s head underwater in the tub as punishment until the child became unconscious, Florida authorities said.

The child nearly drowned, but the father performed CPR and revived the child, according to an arrest affidavit from the Daytona Beach Police Department.

The 29-year-old mother is now charged with aggravated child abuse. McClatchy News is not identifying the woman to protect the identity of the toddler.

McClatchy News reached out to the woman’s attorney on June 10 but did not immediately receive a response.

The morning of June 7, the child accidentally knocked over potted plants while playing outside the Daytona Beach home, police said.

The child’s mother and father got into an argument, and the woman said she would take the child into the street to be hit by a car, the father told police. Then the woman took the child inside to the bathroom to clean the dirt off, according to police.

She started running the tub and locked the bathroom door, refusing to open it as the father pleaded with her to let him in, police said.

Initially, she told investigators she got distracted, then realized her child was face-down in the water.

But when pushed by a detective, she changed her story, police said.

She told investigators the toddler pulled her fingers and damaged her nails, so she “slapped” the toddler and pushed the child into the water, according to police.

Her toddler refused to stay in the water, so she held the child’s head underwater for “no more than one minute” before she realized her child was unconscious, she told police.

At that point, she opened the door for the father to rush in and perform CPR, according to police. The child was revived, and police later arrived at the home.

“The prompt actions of the child’s father and emergency responders ensured that the child is currently in stable condition and receiving medical care,” Daytona Beach police said in a news release June 10.

The woman has been in a relationship with the child’s father for about four years, she told police.

Daytona Beach is on Florida’s Atlantic coast, about a 60-mile drive northeast from Orlando.

This story was originally published June 10, 2024 at 12:56 PM with the headline "Dad saves toddler being held underwater in tub by mom as punishment, Florida cops say."