After Toddler Drowns in Pool, Mom Charged With Murder

Georgia mom Bobbie Jessica Prather hit with felony murder charge
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 2, 2017 11:17 AM CDT
Mom Hit With Felony Murder Charge After Toddler Drowns
Bobbie Jessica Prather.   (Bartow County Sheriff's Office)

It's a summer-season nightmare no parent wants to envision: their young child drowning in a backyard swimming pool. Instead of drawing sympathy, however, one Georgia mom has instead been charged with felony murder after her 3-year-old was found unconscious on Memorial Day in a swimming pool and subsequently died from his injuries, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Cops and paramedics rushed to the house in Bartow County after being dispatched to the home, but it was too late for rescuers to resuscitate the toddler. Less than five hours later, 32-year-old Bobbie Jessica Prather was arrested and hit with the murder charge, as well as four counts of first-degree cruelty to children.

WGCL has tapes of the 911 call made by neighbors who found the non-responsive boy in what CBS and the AP report was an aboveground pool. "Come on, baby, breathe," the distressed woman on the phone can be heard pleading as the dispatcher gives her instructions on conducting CPR. Prather allegedly left the boy unsupervised for 14 hours; it's not apparent what she was doing during that period. Three other children were removed from the home, including a 4-year-old boy, said to be the brother of the victim, and two 18-month-old twin boys, whose relation to the toddler is unclear. The father of the victim was also arrested, but on warrants not related to his son's drowning (cops aren't ruling out charging him in the drowning death). Prather was denied bond at a Wednesday court appearance. (A 5-year-old saved her mom from drowning.)

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