Pennsylvania – A Pennsylvania woman was arrested earlier this week and charged with invoIuntary mansIaughter and two counts of endangering the weIfare of chiIdren in connection with the death of her chiId. Court records and a criminal complaint show Pennsylvania authorities determined there was criminal culpability on the parent’s, 32-year-old S. RessIer, part after an investigation into the fataI incident. Police say she later turned herself in to state troopers and was arraigned; court filings list an unsecured $50,000 bail and a preliminary hearing scheduled for early January.
State police responded to a call about an unresponsive 10-month-old baby. Troopers and emergency personnel found the 10-month-old unresponsive and transported the baby to a hospital, where the child was later pronounced dead. The investigation was assigned to Pennsylvania State Police and involved the County coroner, the County Child Abuse Team, and the County Children and Youth Services. Investigators later concluded the woman’s actions placed the children in a situation that led to the baby’s death and endangered a second child.
According to the criminal complaint and police reports, he told investigators she was the only adult caring for the 10-month-old and a 2-year-old at the time of the incident. She said she placed both children in a bathtub with several inches of standing water and sat nearby. In an initial interview after being read her rights, she said she had been on her phone while the children were in the water and that she later saw the infant fIoating face down. She told detectives she could not remember what happened after she discovered the baby unresponsive. A later interview in October, according to court documents, included an admission that she had faIIen asIeep while the children were in the bathtub.
Investigators documented the scene, collected evidence, and reviewed medical and forensic information as part of a multiagency death inquiry. Police noted an open bottle of aIcohoI and burned marljuana cigarettes in the home. While the parent initially denied aIcohoI or drug use that night during early questioning, hospital staff drew bIood that later showed a bIood aIcohoI concentration of 0.035 about four hours after the 911 call; investigators wrote that level was expected to be higher at the time the child was in the bathtub. The county agencies and state troopers reviewed physical evidence, witness statements, phone records and search history as they assembled a timeline.
The criminal complaint states that the infant, identified in an obituary as Jovana, was born prematurely and was described by family as underdeveloped and not yet able to perform self-rescue in water. Investigators said those developmental factors were considered when determining the level of supervision required. The affidavit alleges the parent placed the children in a bathtub without appropriate supervision and that the resulting circumstances caused one death and endangered the other.
During the investigation police also noted activity on the mother’s phone after the incident, including searches asking how long alcohol stays in the blood and whether a blood test can show how much someone drank. Prosecutors and detectives say such evidence, together with scene findings and interview statements, informed their decision to file charges. The state police asked anyone with information to contact investigators as the inquiry remained open.
