MALACHI HENDERSON - 7 Months (2009) - Monessen (SE of Pittsburg) PA

A young Monessen mother whose 7-month-old son drowned in a bathtub in
September should not have been allowed to care for her children, a
defense attorney told a Westmoreland County jury Tuesday.

Brian Aston, the lawyer for 22-year-old Seairia Henderson, said the
Westmoreland County Children's Bureau in 2004 had ordered Henderson to
attend parenting classes and had removed custody of her older son.

"Seairia goes on and has two other children. The same children's
bureau is involved with her and sends her to classes. The same
children's bureau told her, 'You can't leave them alone.' I'm willing to
bet they got frustrated because she just didn't get it," Aston said in
his opening statement in Henderson's murder trial.

Henderson is charged with criminal homicide in the Sept. 11 drowning
of her son, Malachi, who was left in a bathtub with his 2-year-old
sister.

The prosecution contends Henderson put the children in the bathtub
and while the water was running, went outside her Monessen home to
socialize with friends and smoke cigarettes.

When Henderson went back inside after about 20 minutes, she found her
son unconscious.

Aston told jurors that Henderson was unable to properly care for her
children because she has low intelligence and attention deficit
disorder.

"The most damning thing for her is she looks normal. Seairia
Henderson was told over and over and over again not to leave these
children alone. She just doesn't get it," Aston said.

Aston told jurors he does not dispute that his client was outside for
about 20 minutes while the children were in the bathtub.

He said the case focuses on Henderson's state of mind and whether she
should be found guilty of a homicide.

Assistant District Attorney Barbara Jollie said Henderson's actions
constituted malice and a conscious disregard for her children's safety.
She is seeking a conviction of third-degree murder.

"Parenting brings with it a duty, both moral and legal, to protect
your child. Efforts are required on the part of parents to protect their
child. We must do at least the minimum to protect our babies. She
ignored her parental duty," Jollie told jurors.

Witnesses testified yesterday afternoon that Henderson was outside in
a parking lot while the children were in the tub. One neighbor, Eugene
Shaw, testified he saw Henderson smoking and dancing.

Jurors heard an audio recording of a seven-minute frantic call
Henderson made to 911 after she found her son.

"My baby's not breathing. He's not breathing," Henderson told
dispatchers. "He was in the tub. I didn't have a lot of water in the
tub."

Testimony will continue today before Westmoreland County Judge John
Blahovec

Pa. mom gets 5 to 10 years in boy's bathtub drowning


9:01 AM, Aug. 17, 2010 |


MONESSEN, PA. — A Pittsburgh-area single mother will spend five to 10 years in prison because her 7-month-old son drowned in a bathtub while she was outside smoking, talking and dancing in the street with neighbors.
Twenty-two-year-old Seairia Henderson, of Monessen, was convicted of third-degree murder in the boy's death on Sept. 11. She was sentenced Monday and will also spend 10 years on probation

Henderson's attorney never disputed that she left the boy alone for about 20 minutes while she socialized with friends. Instead, attorney Brian Aston argued her crime was involuntary manslaughter, a killing that results from negligence but carries a far lesser sentence.

Henderson told Westmoreland County Judge John Blahovec, "I know that I walked away from my son. I have suffered every day with this.''