ALDRICH LEATHERS - 8 Months - Denver CO

The mother of an 8-month-old Denver baby found dead in the bathtub faces possible child abuse charges.Eight-month old Aldrich Leathers was found unresponsive in the bathtub Wednesday morning.
His mother, 39-year-old Muriel Keer, was taken into custody pending charges of child abuse resulting in death.
Police say the boy may have drowned but are still investigating the cause of death.
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Mother-held-after-8-month-old-dies-in-bathtub-2182590.php

The mother of a dead infant was taken into custody today pending charges of
child abuse resulting in death, Denver police said.

The 8-month-old boy was found unresponsive in a bathtub today at
10:30 a.m. in a home in the 2700 block of East 33rd Avenue. He was
declared dead a short time later after he was rushed to Presbyterian St.
Luke's Hospital, the coroner's office said.

The child's mother, Muriel Keer, 29, is being held by police this afternoon.

Court records show Keer pleaded guilty in October 2010 to possession
of a controlled substance and was given a four-year suspended prison
sentence, in addition to four years of supervised probation.

In September 2010, she petitioned a Denver judge to have her marriage
invalidated, records show.
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_18945037

Mother Arrested After Baby Found Dead In Bathtub

9-Month-Old Boy Was In Care Of Mother, Neighbors Say

Posted by Wayne Harrison, Web Editor
POSTED: 2:46 pm MDT September 21, 2011

DENVER -- Denver police have arrested the mother of a 9-month old boy found dead in a bathtub.
The Denver Coroner's Office identified the victim Wednesday as Aldrich Leathers.
Police said the mother, Muriel Keer, 39, has been arrested on suspicion of child abuse resulting in death.
The coroner's office is conducting an autopsy to identify the manner and cause of death.
According to neighbors, the mother lives alone with the baby boy in the home, and was screaming "Not my baby!" after he was taken away Tuesday night.
"When they came out, the baby came out stiff as a board," neighbor Edwin Monroe said.
The boy's home has a plastic kiddie pool in the front lawn and a high chair and stroller on the front porch.
Neighbors said they are in shock.
"I still can't believe it because why did he drown? Who was watching him? That doesn't make sense. As soon as I heard he drowned I said, 'Why?'" said neighbor Pat Scott.
While pregnant with the baby, Keer was struggling with drug abuse along with an arrest and conviction for using opiates, according to court records.
Keer was arrested in March 2010 in Denver on felony drug possession and drug distribution charges, court records show.
She pleaded guilty on Oct. 1, 2010, to one count of felony drug possession and prosecution and defense attorneys agreed she would be given a suspended four-year prison sentence on the condition that she successfully complete three years of intensive supervised probation, court records said.
But in November 2010, court records show Keer failed a drug test, violating her probation, court records said. On Nov. 19, Keer's $5,000 bond was revoked and she was hit with a $ 1 million bond.
On Nov. 27, 2010, Keer gave birth to the baby boy, records show.
The next month, Keer was given a suspended four-year prison sentence with four years of intensive supervised probation.
Court records show social services officials became involved after the pregnant woman failed the drug test and violated probation.
But, somehow, Keer maintained custody of the baby.
"June, July, I saw probation people would come over here every week and monitor her and visit with her," said Monroe.
He said he knew she had a past that included drugs.
"I thought the lady cleaned herself up," Monroe said.


http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/29258439/detail.html

Baby Who Drowned In Tub Born To Jailed Mother

Court Records: Muriel Keer Failed 2 Drug Tests While Pregant With Son

Alan Gathright and Dayle Cedars
POSTED: 6:04 pm MDT September 22, 2011

DENVER -- A 9-month-old baby who drowned in a bathtub Tuesday night spent the first months of his life in the care of Denver Human Services after he was born to a mother jailed on a drug possession conviction, according to court records.
After being released on bond last fall, the mother, Muriel Keer, was jailed again for violating probation by failing two drugs tests for methamphetamine and opiates, court record show. This happened just days before the Nov. 27, 2010, birth of her son, Aldrich Leathers.
A judge was so concerned about the drug test violations that Keer's bond was raised from $5,000 to $1 million, court records show.


Yet Keer, who pleaded guilty to felony methamphetamine possession, received a suspended four-year prison sentence and four years of intensive supervised probation in December, court records said.
Keer, 39, entered a female offender drug treatment program, and her baby remained in the custody of the Human Services agency for about five months, 7NEWS reporter Dayle Cedars learned.
In May, the baby boy was returned to his mother, who lived in a northeast Denver home at 2725 E. 33rd Ave.
For Aldrich's first month at home, an in-home monitoring service was checking up on Keer and her infant, Cedars learned. Denver Human Services deemed the transition a success and closed its case.
After that, the only official watching Keer was her probation officer.
Aldrich was found unresponsive in a bathtub at the 33rd Avenue home on Tuesday night, police said.
Neighbors said they heard the mother screaming, "Not my baby!" as the unconscious child was rushed to Presbyterian Saint Luke's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Keer was arrested on suspicion of child abuse resulting in death, police said.
Neighbors said they saw two men flee Keer's home on the night the baby died. A source told 7NEWS that police are investigating that report.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/newsarchive/29272513/detail.html

A woman has been arrested in the Denver, CO area for leaving her baby
unattended in the bathtub, resulting in his untimely death.

Muriel Keer, 39, has been no stranger to criminal activity having
been arrested on drug charges while she was pregnant and later sentenced
to probation. Keer also has a link to a high profile murder case in
which a man, Robert Walters, was found guilty of murdering his
girlfriend. Keer was apparently dating a man, Michael Leathers, who
claims Walters sought him out as a ‘murder for hire’ in effort to have
his girlfriend killed.

Keers infant son, Aldrich Leathers, is thought to be the son of her
former boyfriend who was related to the murder case as a lead witness
against Walters.

There were reportedly several adults in the household where the
tragic death of Keer’s 10 month old son occurred. Keer was reportedly on
the computer while leaving the baby in the bathtub alone. An
unidentified man reportedly found the baby face down in the tub and
called 911. The baby was unable to be revived and was declared dead
shortly after arriving to the hospital.

According to the Denver Westword, neighbors say that Keer was devastated and full of grief as they heard her scream, “Oh, no, not my baby!”
http://www.imperfectparent.com/topics/2011/09/23/baby-left-unattended-in-bathtub-found-dead/

DENVER -- A mother was on the computer in the
kitchen when a visitor found her 10-month-old son submerged in an
overflowing tub with the water running, according to an arrest
affidavit.The infant, Aldrich Leathers, was pronounced dead later
that night, on Sept. 20, at a hospital. His mother, Muriel Keer, was
formally charged with felony child abuse resulting in death on Tuesday,
said Denver district attorney spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough.
The 39-year-old Keer remained in the Denver County Jail on $100,000 bond.
7NEWS has reported that the infant
spent the first months of his life in the care of Denver Department of
Human Services after he was born to Keer while she was jailed for drug
possession.After being released on bond last fall, Keer was
jailed again for violating probation by failing two drugs tests for
methamphetamine and opiates, court records show. This happened just days
before Aldrich's birth on Nov. 27, 2010.Keer regained custody of
her child in the spring and was on intensive supervised probation when
the infant died, roughly four months in her custody.On the night
of Sept. 20, Denver police were called to Keer's home at 2725 E. 33rd
Ave. on a reported baby drowning in a bathtub.Zachery Hopkins
told police he was visiting his boyfriend, who rented a basement room in
Keer's house. The two men went outside to smoke cigarettes.Hopkins
said he went inside to use the bathroom and saw Keer working on the
computer in the kitchen, according to the arrest affidavit.In the
bathroom, Hopkins said he found the baby boy lying face-up under the
surface of the water with toys floating around him, the affidavit said.
The faucet was still running into the brimming tub and water was flowing
into an overflow drain, the affidavit said.Hopkins said he lifted the unconscious infant
from the water and called 911, the affidavit said.Neighbors told 7NEWS
they heard the mother screaming, "Not my baby!" as the limp child was carried to an ambulance.When
a police detective told Keer she was under arrest, she asked for an
attorney, the affidavit said. But as the detective was leaving the
interview room, Keer said her baby had diaper rash and "there was no
abuse," the affidavit said."The suspect is currently on probation
for drug-related offenses," the affidavit said. "The suspect has a
history concerning the victim with the Denver Department of Human
Services."Keer pleaded guilty to felony methamphetamine
possession in December and received a suspended four-year prison
sentence and four years of intensive supervised probation, court records
said.She entered a female offender drug treatment program, and
her baby remained in the custody of the Human Services agency for about
five months, 7NEWS learned from court records.Last spring, the baby was returned to his mother.For
Aldrich's first month at home, an in-home monitoring service was
checking up on Keer and her infant, 7NEWS learned. Denver Human Services
deemed the transition a success and closed its case.After that, the only official watching Keer was her probation officer.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/29329243/detail.html?source=den