Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 1, 1995 TAG: 9506010084
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TONYA WOODS AND LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
On Tuesday, police got a report that 1-year-old D'Keishaye Taowe Rosser, of the 2700 block of Centre Avenue Northwest, had been taken to Community Hospital of Roanoke Valley, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Police said members of Rosser's family told them the girl was left in a bathtub with about 6 inches of water in it while her mother went to a neighbor's home.
When the mother returned, she found D'Keishaye face down in the water.
An autopsy conducted Wednesday confirmed that the child drowned. There were no signs of additional injuries or abuse, according to Assistant Deputy Chief Medical Examiner William Massello.
While the drowning "would be consistent with an accident," Massello said the autopsy findings could not rule out the possibility of foul play.
Lt. W.J. Beason of the Roanoke Police Department said police were investigating the drowning as an accident. Child Protective Services and the Police Department's Youth Bureau also are involved, Beason said.
It is the second time in seven months that Roanoke police have investigated the drowning of a small child in a bathtub.
In November, Simone Ann Ayton called 911 and said her 7-month-old son had accidentally drowned as she bathed him. Police and rescue workers found the child, Darius Akeem Ayton, dead at an apartment on Ferncliff Avenue Northwest.
Ayton, who is mentally and physically handicapped, told police she was unable to get the child out of the water immediately after he slipped into the bathtub.
But in a later statement to police, Ayton later admitted that she held her son underwater until he stopped struggling, because she was frustrated with his crying.
Ayton, who has been convicted of second-degree murder, is scheduled to be sentenced June 21.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB