A 3-year-old boy in Indiana fatally drowned after his mother allegedly drank five 25 oz. cans of Bud Ice in two hours and she passed out on a patio chair.
Amie Jo Farber has been charged with neglect of a dependent causing death.
Officers with the Evansville Police Department responded to a home on Saturday, September 19, at 4:44 p.m. after a boy had been found unresponsive in a pool, according to a probable cause arrest affidavit viewed by Law & Crime.
Authorities immediately started performing lifesaving measures on the boy upon their arrival, and paramedics later rushed him to the hospital. The boy, who has not been publicly identified, was ultimately pronounced dead.
The homeowner spoke to police and explained that Farber, who is a family acquaintance, came to his house around 2:30 p.m. and asked if her son could use the pool. He said that he agreed to let the boy use the pool as long as Farber, 41, watched him.
The man added that he knew Farber had a drinking problem and noted that she appeared intoxicated when she arrived at his home, per the affidavit.
He said that he and Farber sat outside as the boy swam in the pool on a floatie. The homeowner then went inside for about 10 minutes and he found Farber “passed out” in a patio chair when he returned. The homeowner also said he did not initially see the boy, but the floatie was overturned in the pool.
The homeowner then noticed the boy was floating face down in the water. He got the boy out of the pool and yelled for someone to call 911 as he started to perform CPR.
A woman then called 911 and told the dispatcher that Farber “passed out drunk,” per the affidavit. The boy was ultimately pronounced dead after emergency services rushed him to the hospital.
Police said that Farber allegedly drank five Bud Ice “Big Ones” in the two hours she was at the home.
Farber spoke to police about the incident, and she claimed she briefly jumped in the pool before she got out. She then claimed to go back to a patio chair, where she “must’ve fallen asleep.”
“This is all my fault,” she allegedly told officers, according to the affidavit.
Police officers collected a blood sample from Farber before she was arrested and taken into custody at the Vandenburgh County Jail. Farber is currently being held on a $25,000 bond, and she is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, September 23.
It is not currently clear if Farber has entered a plea or retained legal counsel following her arrest. The Evansville Police Department did not immediately respond to Us’ request for comment regarding the case.
