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SALT LAKE CITY — A South Salt Lake woman faces child abuse homicide charges for a February incident in which 10-year-old Braedon Baker had an epileptic seizure and drowned in the bathtub.
According to charges filed in 3rd District Court Wednesday, April Ann Baker, 31, admitted to investigators that doctors warned her not to leave Braedon alone in the bathtub because of his seizures. Investigators also say a doctor had stressed to April Baker in January the importance that Braedon not miss any doses of anti-seizure medication.
But an autopsy showed Braedon had gone without his medication for around four days when he drowned.
On the night of Feb. 20, police say April Baker told Braedon to take a bath while she and her brother, who also lives in the residence, prepared dinner.
Braedon was alone in the bathroom with the door closed, the brother told police. After about 15 minutes, April Baker said she heard a tapping sound that lasted for about a minute, according to court documents. About five minutes later, her brother went to check on Braedon and found the boy underwater and “blue.”
In January, April Baker told a doctor Braedon was having about one epileptic seizure a month, police say. According to a report police obtained from Primary Children’s Medical Center, Braedon’s anti-seizure medication blood level should have been in the range of 50 to 100 micrograms per milliliter, but laboratory results showed it below 5 mcg/ML.
Charging documents did not specify April Baker's relationship to Braedon. Child abuse homicide is a second-degree felony.
Email:lbrubaker@ksl.com
