Special Needs Toddler Drowns in Tub While Foster Mom Chats on Phone for 30 Minutes

A 25-year-old Indiana woman has been charged with neglect five months after she left her 21-month-old foster daughter in a bathtub, where she drowned while the mother was chatting on the phone for 30 minutes.

According to court documents, Hailynn Volpatti told investigators on May 21 that she left the little girl alone in the tub with her two 4-year-old sons, WTHR reports. When she returned, Nova Bryant was flotaing on her back in the water.

Volpatti called 911, and an arriving officer performed CPR until he found a “faint pulse.” The baby was taken to a hospital in Terre Haute and then to Riley Hospital in Indianapolis, where she died on June 16.

Volpatti came to police two days after the incident and told them she hadn’t been honest about what happened. At that point, she said she had been on the phone with a friend when she put the children in the tub. “At some point” she went upstairs to get pajamas for the little girl but returned about 5 minutes later when one of the boys yelled for her.

Then, she changed her story to say she had been upstairs for 15 to 20 minutes, and later said the time had actually been 30 minutes.

An interview with the friend she was speaking with on the phone corroborated the 30 minutes time.

Investigators also learned that the toddler had special needs: She was born 32 weeks premature and had multiple health problems.

“Nova’s past medical history included chronic feeding disorder, emesis, gastrostomy tube dependent, global developmental delay, history of gastroschisis, history of prematurity, moderate malnutrition, motility disorder of intestine, oropharyngeal dysphagia, short stature and spinal asymmetry,” court documents said.

Volpatti has been charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death, Law&Crime reported. She was taken into custody last week.

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