PUEBLO, Colo. – A 22-year-old woman was arrested on a warrant for child abuse resulting in death after she reportedly left an 11-month-old infant alone in a bathtub for several minutes, resulting in the child’s death days later, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Denver7.
Police said officers were called to a home in the area of Emilia Street and West Pueblo Boulevard on reports of a child drowning in a bathtub of a home at around 7:22 p.m. on May 8.
While on their way, officers were informed that Amanda Miller, 22, was starting CPR on the child.
When police arrived at the home, they found Miller kneeling next to the child, who was in the middle of the living room wet and nude. One of the officers saw white and yellow vomit on the floor next to the infant’s head, according to the affidavit.
The officer saw the infant was “extremely pale/white with dark blue lips and dark blue eye lids and checked for a pulse, but the child did not have one, the affidavit also states.
The baby was immediately taken to St. Mary Corwin Hospital and then to the University Care Memorial Hospital Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in Colorado Springs where she remained intubated and unresponsive until her death on May 14, according to the police report.
The Larimer County Coroner performed an autopsy on the child two days later and declared the infant had died due to asphyxiation by drowning.
Baby-sitter tells police what happened
At the time of the incident, Miller told a Pueblo Police Department officer she was a friend of the infant’s mother and was babysitting the infant and her 3-year-old sister, adding she knew her friend was to return home soon so she wanted to put both girls in the bathtub and have them clean, according to the affidavit.
Miller told police she poured a “lukewarm” bath for the girls and filled it up with about six inches of water before going to another room to vacuum “for approximately 6-7 minutes." When she came back, she said she saw the 11-month-old face down in the water.
Police said Miller immediately called 911 and was guided through the CPR process by a dispatch officer.
She was also asked if she had drank any alcohol or consumed drugs before the incident. She said she only smoked marijuana about four hours before putting the girls in the bathtub after taking a nap at around 3:30 p.m., the affidavit states.
Miller was then taken to the Pueblo Police Department and interviewed by detectives, where she was arrested for an outstanding warrant out of Pueblo County for failing to appear for providing false information to a pawnbroker, according to the police report.
Police find inconsistencies in her story
The report also states police went to the home where the incident took place and found some inconsistencies with Miller’s story.
Police said the home did not appear to be have been vacuumed and that the living room had pieces of crumbs on the floor as well as other small debris.
They also stated that at one point, Miller told them that she was going out for a cigarette after vacuuming, and that’s when the children were left unattended.
A record of the 911 call also confirmed details which suggested Miller’s story did not match up.
Miller was recorded stating she had gone into the kitchen “for a second” before finding the infant face down in the bathtub, according to the affidavit.
“It is clear Amanda is inconsistent in what she reportedly was doing while the children were in the bathtub,” the affidavit further states.
Miller was arrested Tuesday on a warrant for child abuse resulting in death, a class 3 felony. She is being held at the Pueblo County Jail on a $51,000 bond.
She is scheduled to appear on Pueblo County Court on Jun. 1 at 8:15 a.m.
Denver7 reached out to the Pueblo County Jail for a statement from Miller's attorney, but a call was not returned.
