10-month-old girl died after her intoxicated mother put her and her 2-year-old sister in a tub with several inches of water and fell asleep while watching the kids “taking a bath;” mother arrested
Pennsylvania – In a heartbreaking case out of Pennsylvania, a 32-year-old mother, identified as S. Ressler, has been charged after her 10‑month‑old daughter drowned in a bathtub while she was intoxicated and asleep. Ressler now faces involuntary manslaughter and two counts of endangering the welfare of children for the deadly incident that left a community stunned and an innocent baby dead.
Ressler’s charges stem from her actions on the evening of August 14, 2025, when police say she placed both her 10‑month‑old daughter and the victim’s 2‑year‑old sister in a bathtub with only a few inches of water and then fell asleep while the children were “taking a bath.” Authorities said Ressler was intoxicated and not properly supervising the children, a failure that led directly to the younger child’s death.
According to police and court records, the Pennsylvania State Police were dispatched to a home at roughly 7:30 p.m. after a neighbor called 911. The neighbor reported the incident after Ressler ran out of her home screaming for help, alerting her to a crisis inside the home. Troopers arrived to find the 10‑month‑old girl unresponsive in the bathtub. Despite prompt emergency efforts, the infant was rushed to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. The death of the infant would leave her family and neighbors devastated and raise urgent questions about what had happened in the home.
In interviews with detectives after she was read her Miranda rights, Ressler acknowledged that she was the only adult caregiver present at the time of the incident and that both children had been placed in the bathtub with several inches of water. Investigators noted that the girl was “underdeveloped” and not yet able to “self‑rescue while in water,” meaning she could not lift her head or move herself out of danger in the tub. Ressler told police she was seated on the floor near the sink, scrolling on her phone while the children played in the tub. She said she could not see the back part of the bathtub from where she was sitting, and when she finally looked inside she saw her 10-month-old “floating face down” in the water. According to the affidavit, when detectives asked Ressler what happened next, she said simply: “I don’t even know,” claiming she couldn’t remember the moments leading up to the tragedy.
Although Ressler initially denied using alcohol or drugs, the scene inside the home told a different story. Troopers reported finding an open bottle of a flavored whiskey along with burnt marijuana cigarettes in an ashtray next to a playpen easily within reach of the children. The home itself was described as “cluttered and unkempt,” with several uninflated balloons across the first floor that posed additional choking risks for small children. Hospital staff drew blood from Ressler about four hours after the 911 call, and results showed a blood alcohol content of 0.035, a level that troopers believe was “significantly higher” at the time she placed the children in the tub hours earlier. Investigators also discovered Google searches on her phone from while she was still at the hospital, including: “Can you tell how much alcohol I drank from a blood test?” and “How long does alcohol stay in the blood?” These searches raised further questions for detectives about her awareness and judgment during the critical period.
In a second interview with detectives in October, this time with her attorney present, Ressler’s story changed. She admitted that she had “fell asleep” while the children were in the tub, a statement that prosecutors pointed to as negligent and reckless. Troopers concluded in their report: “The defendant admitted to conduct that is negligent and reckless, placing the victims in the circumstance that ultimately caused one death and endangered the other in the same manner.” Ressler is currently jailed on the pending charges and is scheduled to appear in court on January 7, 2026, as the legal process moves forward. Her case is now in the hands of the justice system, which must weigh her actions and the tragic outcome.
The loss of the infant has already been publicly mourned by her family. Her obituary described her as a bright and beautiful child who “brought immense pride and joy to her family.” It noted how she had overcome early obstacles as a premature infant, was just beginning to learn to crawl, and had “beautiful blue eyes” that could light up any room. This tragic case serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of leaving very young children unsupervised, especially around water — even for short periods of time — and the devastating consequences that can result from impaired judgment. For the victim’s family, the journey through grief continues against the backdrop of legal accountability for her untimely death.
