Inset: Courtney M. Newsom (Craighead County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The area in Arkansas where Newsom lived when her 1-year-old son drowned in the bathtub (Google Maps).
An Arkansas mother has been arrested following the tragic drowning of her 1-year-old son in a bathtub. The incident occurred after she allegedly left the child unattended in the water for close to 15 minutes.
Courtney Marie Newsom, aged 31, is now facing charges of felony manslaughter due to reckless conduct leading to death. She also faces two counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a minor.
The Brookland Police Department responded to an emergency call on September 7 at an apartment complex located at Logan Street and Wagner Place. The call reported an unresponsive infant, as detailed in a report by the local news outlet, JonesboroRightNow, which referenced a probable cause affidavit.
Upon arrival, first responders discovered Newsom performing CPR on her son inside the bathroom. Paramedics quickly took charge of the resuscitation efforts and rushed the child to a nearby hospital for medical attention.
During a subsequent police interview, Newsom claimed that she had only left the bathroom for a brief period—less than two minutes—before returning to find her son unresponsive.
“Officers spoke with Courtney regarding the incident. She stated she was bathing both her son and daughter and left the room for about 60 to 90 seconds,” the affidavit noted, as reported by the Jonesboro Sun. “When Courtney came back, she discovered her son lying on his back with water covering his lips and nose, prompting her to pull him from the tub and initiate CPR.”
The boy was pronounced dead on the evening of Sept. 13.
In a second interview with investigators, Newsom reportedly provided a different version of events, this time allegedly explaining she left her son alone in the bath for more than 10 minutes.
“She said that she got up at 6:55 a.m. and both kids had been sick but her son seemed better but that she was going to call into work so she could take them to the doctor. She said that she gets up at 6:55 a.m., gets the kids ready for a bath, that’s my morning routine,” the affidavit reportedly said. “So then, she said she put them in the bath, then walked out of the room to put her daughter’s phone in her backpack. ‘I then text my mom and thought I had only been out of the room for a minute but I lost track of time cause I was gone for 14 minutes. The reason I know this is because I text my mom the first time at 7 a.m. and called her when I found my son at 7:14 a.m.’”
A warrant for Newsom’s arrest was issued Oct. 8, and she was taken into custody on Oct. 11, according to NEA Report. She appeared in court on Oct. 15, when Judge David Boling ordered her to be held in lieu of $15,000 bond, which Newsom later posted.
A GoFundMe was started to assist Newsom in paying her legal costs. The post says that following her arrest, Newsom was placed “in isolation and on suicide watch” while at the Craighead County Jail.
Newsom is currently scheduled to appear in court again for her arraignment on Nov. 25.
