KENT COUNTY, Mich — An 8-month-old baby boy drowned in a bathtub in Sparta Township in November 2023.
Detectives claim the child's mother was home alone with the baby and shared different accounts of what happened.
On Thursday, the Kent County Prosecutor's Office authorized charges against the boy's 23-year-old mother, Olivia Miller.
The judge arraigned Miller on Friday. She faces one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of 2nd-degree child abuse in the boy's drowning death.
On Nov. 22, 2023, first responders were called out to a home off 16 Mile Road Northwest near Kenowa Avenue in Sparta Township.
Deputies said a child was found in the bathtub inside the home.
First responders gave the child CPR and rushed the baby to the hospital. The child later died.
Detectives said they "conducted an extensive investigation that revealed circumstances were different than originally presented."
According to court documents, Miller was the only other person with the baby at the time he died and throughout the investigation detectives said she gave "varying stories" of what happened.
The documents said Miller told detectives she had placed the baby in the bathtub sitting up, facing the faucet when the water was a few inches deep. She said she then left the water running while she went into an adjacent room to switch the laundry.
She said she went back to the bathtub approximately five minutes later and found the baby floating face up with his face submerged in the water and attempted life-saving measures.
Detectives said after analyzing Miller's phone usage, she had been using her phone in varying capacities for approximately 21 minutes leading up to the baby's death, with the longest break in use being 18 seconds.
Miller pleaded not guilty to both counts she was charged with, and the Magistrate judge set the bond at $300,000 cash/surety.
Miller's next hearing is on Feb. 7 in the 63rd District Court.
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