A water leak from an upstairs apartment in Washington state led firefighters to a devastating discovery — an 8-year-old girl found unresponsive, face up, in an overflowing bathtub, according to police.
The child’s mother, Travionna Johnson, is now facing first- and second-degree manslaughter charges along with abandonment of a dependent person after the girl was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Johnson was arrested Sunday after a neighbor called 911 to report a water leak coming from the apartment above, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by KXLY. Firefighters found the front door locked and had to break in through a window. Inside, they allegedly discovered Johnson’s daughter unresponsive in the tub and rushed her to the hospital.
According to the affidavit, Johnson had left for work just before 7 a.m. that morning, leaving her daughter home alone. She reportedly texted her sister asking her to come watch the girl but never received a reply. Johnson’s sister told police the child, who had epilepsy and developmental delays, could not be left alone even briefly.
The sister said Johnson typically arranged care in advance, and the girl had received over three hours of in-home care the day before. Her regular caregiver told police the child liked turning on the bathroom faucet.
When detectives asked Johnson why she deviated from her usual routine of arranging care, she said, “I don’t know how to answer that.” A written statement she allegedly provided said she “was sorry for doing so and that she feels heartbroken and dumb and she will never be at peace with her decision.”
Police said Johnson wailed and hid her face upon learning her daughter had died, but showed no tears or visible concern while the girl was being taken to the hospital, according to KXLY.
“This was a serious, violent crime,” Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Samantha Wright said at Johnson’s first court appearance Monday.
Johnson admitted her daughter functioned at a 3- or 4-year-old developmental level and said she shouldn’t have left her alone, the affidavit states. The child’s caregiver had noted balance and walking issues requiring leg braces and said she needed to be kept “within sight at all times.”
Johnson reportedly said her authorized in-home care hours had dropped from 120 to 68 per month after her daughter returned to school. Her sister told police Johnson had a history of depression and suicidal thoughts, linked to working two jobs seven days a week as a single mother to a disabled child. Johnson gave birth to her daughter at age 15, according to the affidavit.
“I know deep in my heart she loved her baby,” Johnson’s mother, Kimberly Russell, said in court, per KREM. “She would never do anything to cause her harm. And if she did, and if anything went wrong, I know it was not her in her right mind.”
Johnson’s bail was set at $500,000. She is due back in court Sept. 24.