KARSON HOWELL - 3 yo (9/14) - / Charged: Mother, Stephanie Howell - DeFuniak Springs, FL

Florida woman jailed for child neglect after drowning of toddler


By Barbara Liston
ORLANDO Fla.   Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:10pm EDT




(Reuters) - A young Florida mother was charged in connection with the Sept. 3 drowning death of her toddler, who had been hospitalized for a near-drowning several weeks earlier, a prosecutor said on Thursday.

Stephanie Howell, 22, of DeFuniak Springs in the Panhandle, was arrested Wednesday night on a warrant for child neglect causing death, according to Greg Anchors, assistant state attorney for Walton County. She remained in jail on Thursday.

State child welfare workers had investigated previous incidents involving Howell, Anchors said, including the earlier near-drowning of the toddler, 3-year-old Karson Howell.

A spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Children and Families confirmed that the agency did have prior contact with Howell and said details would be released later.

Anchors said rescuers had pumped Karson’s stomach and revived the boy after the first incident in his backyard, above-ground pool.

Karson died in a similar, unfenced pool at his grandparents’ home after his mother, who had given birth to a sibling five days earlier, Anchors said.

“The grandparents had told her that ... they were going to go in and lay down and she needed to watch her kids," Anchors said. "She apparently went to sleep.”

Catherine Rodriguez, spokeswoman for the Walton County Sheriff's Office, said another of Howell's children, a 2-year-old, was found at the scene of the drowning soaking wet, although investigators do not know whether the child had been in the pool.

A judge ordered Howell held on a $10,000 bond at a first appearance Thursday morning, according to Anchors and jail records. Anchors said the judge ordered her to have no unsupervised contact with children.





http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/11/us-usa-florida-drowning-idUSKBN0H626720140911