Category: Child
Toddler dies after being found submerged in container of water on front porch; mother accused of negligence: Cops
A North Carolina mother was arrested for negligence almost a month after her toddler boy was found submerged in a container of water on a home’s front porch and later died, the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies responded to a 911 call about a missing child in the 200 block of Old Timber Road in Jacksonville around 4:30 p.m. Dec. 11, officials said.
‘Don’t have kids if you’re not diligent about the care and protection you provide them! You are responsible for their lives! Literally!’
Shortly after deputies arrived at the home, they found a 16-month-old boy unconscious and submerged in water inside a container on the front porch of the home, officials said.
Deputies and emergency medical services personnel immediately initiated lifesaving measures, officials said, adding that the boy was taken to Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune, where he later was pronounced dead.
Image source: Onslow County (N.C.) Sheriff’s Office
An investigation determined that negligence on the part of the child’s mother was a contributing factor in his death, officials said.
Elizabeth Marie Holderness, 30, turned herself in Monday to the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office, officials said.
The sheriff’s office said Holderness has been charged with felony involuntary manslaughter, felony negligent child abuse – serious bodily injury, and six misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.
Investigators determined that Holderness showed reckless disregard for human life, WCTI-TV reported, citing arrest warrants.
The warrants allege Holderness willfully ingested an illegal substance in a separate room for an extended period of time while the child was in her care, the station added.
She received a $75,000 unsecured bond after her first court appearance Monday in Onslow County District Court, WCTI said, adding that Holderness bonded out later Monday afternoon.
While a number of commenters posting under the sheriff’s office Facebook entry about the incident claim to know Holderness and caution against judgment, others didn’t feel that way:
- “Maybe you shouldn’t do drugs,” one commenter said. “If you’re defending these actions, do better.”
- “Everyone making excuses. This boy was 16 months [old]. Those children are never to be left unattended. Period,” another user declared, adding that “the mother got negligence for a reason.”
- “Makes me sick! Don’t have kids if you’re not diligent about the care and protection you provide them! You are responsible for their lives! Literally!” another commenter wrote.
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11-year-old arrested for alleged ‘kill list’ at Florida school — just 2 weeks after similar incident in same school district
For the second time in just two weeks, an 11-year-old has been arrested, handcuffed, and perp-walked after allegedly creating a “kill list” at school — and both incidents occurred in the same Florida school district but involved different students in different schools. In addition, both schools are “alternative education” schools.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said an 11-year-old male on Monday “wrote out a kill list at Highbanks Learning Center in Deltona.”
‘It’s not appropriate to post about a child of this age on social media.’
The 11-year-old is “facing a felony charge of making a written threat to kill,” the sheriff’s office said, adding that the school resource deputy confirmed that the suspect doesn’t have access to weapons.
Blaze News is not naming the suspect or showing his face because of his age.
However, the sheriff’s office did name the handcuffed suspect and posted video of him being walked to a jail cell.
Image source: Volusia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office
Image source: Volusia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office
While the sheriff’s office added that “school threats are down recently,” Blaze News reported that just two weeks ago — on Oct. 27 — an 11-year-old girl was arrested after writing a “kill list” at her school desk at Riverview Learning Center in Ormond Beach.
Riverview Learning Center and Highbanks Learning Center are “alternative education” schools, and both are part of Volusia County Schools.
The websites for both schools also tout the “iABLE (Intensive Academic Behavioral Learning Environment) program” which “provides a specialized program designed to meet the needs of students with intense emotional and behavioral needs.”
In the Oct. 27 incident, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said staff at Riverview Learning Center notified a deputy about the “kill list,” which contained four names. The suspect said she was just playing, officials said. The girl was charged with making a written threat to kill as well as violating her probation.
The sheriff’s office posted video after the girl’s arrest showing deputies perp-walking her into a jail cell. A deputy is heard asking her if she had been there before, and she replies in the affirmative.
Blaze News did not name the suspect or show her face because of her age.
Neither Volusia County Schools nor the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office immediately replied to Blaze News’ requests for comment regarding the two arrests.
However, about 4,500 comments — and climbing — so far have hit the sheriff’s Facebook post about Monday’s arrest. Here’s a sampling:
- “I know this young man personally, and he has amazing parents … [and] is a phenomenal football player, son, and brother,” one commenter claimed on the day of the 11-year-old’s arrest. “Yes, he gets in trouble sometimes, but I also think the kid would bullied and pushed … to his limit should [he] be in jail. After he was bullied today the teacher asked him to write his feelings, which I also feel is wrong because that’s what put him here, and it was not even what you guys think it is — but they took him [anyway]; all of this is messed up.”
- “Way [too] quick,” another user wrote, adding that “this young man is my friend’s son; he comes to where we work at all the time and volunteers his time to the elderly; I hate how this picture is painted.”
- “It’s not appropriate to post about a child of this age on social media,” another commenter said. “His actions were wrong, but it’s important to remember that he didn’t pull the trigger or bring a weapon to school. This should be seen as a mental health crisis and be treated accordingly.”
- “As a child I got taken by my father to the city jail, [and] it was expressed to me that if I acted bad, this is where I would be staying — in that jail cell,” another user shared. “I learned from that, [and] learned from tail whoopings …”
- “Bullying should have the same if not similar consequences,” another commenter said. “I’m not sure why bullying is not taken so serious[ly]. Yes, what he did was wrong, but he is a child and is learning his lesson.”
Blaze News published a story earlier in October about another Florida sheriff’s office that was under fire after posting a 9-year-old male’s mug shot on Facebook after his felony arrest for allegedly bringing a knife into his elementary school and threatening classmates with it.
However, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office at the time told WTSP-TV that the decision to post the child’s mug shot is a policy the agency has upheld since 2018, and it won’t remove the post. Indeed, the sheriff’s Facebook post was still up Thursday morning.
“We have not had any repeat offenders since we have put this in place,” Allison Merritt with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office added to the station.
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