Mum Jailed After Playing Mobile Game While Baby Drowns Alone in Bath

A mother who left her seven-month-old son unattended in the bath while playing a mobile phone game has been jailed. Danielle Massey, 31, admitted manslaughter after her baby, Charlie Goodall, drowned when his unstable bath seat tipped over at their home in County Durham, according to BBC.

Teesside Crown Court heard that police were called to the house in West Chilton Terrace, Chilton, on February 16, 2022, after paramedics found Charlie unresponsive in the bath, reported by the Independent. Massey admitted fault for not properly securing the bath seat, which failed to adhere due to the bath’s curvature. She also pleaded guilty to cannabis possession, admitting she had smoked a joint earlier that day.

Massey claimed she briefly left the bathroom to fetch a towel and, as an asthmatic, had to sit on the sofa to catch her breath before “closing her eyes.” She told the court she returned to find Charlie unresponsive and called 999. However, the court heard she gave inconsistent accounts, saying she had left her son alone for anywhere between two and 10 minutes.

Digital evidence revealed Massey had been using an app called Cooking Madness: A Chef’s Game for 26 minutes during the time Charlie was unsupervised. Massey argued she was not actively playing and the game was running in the background, but the judge rejected her claims.

Mr Justice Goss, in sentencing, said: “The defendant has given various changing, inconsistent and implausible accounts of what happened in that interval to try and conceal the truth, which is that she had not properly prepared for the bathing of Charlie and was doing what she wanted to do, engaging in various activities on her phone including using a gaming app, confident in the belief Charlie was in his chair, in the bath.

“I reject her account of being exhausted and closing her eyes. I am sure she was active and awake.”

The court also heard Massey had completed a course on safe bathing practices, which emphasized the importance of never leaving a baby unsupervised. Prosecutor Richard Wright KC stated: “The court can be sure that the cause of Charlie’s death by drowning was not simply because the bath seat was not properly adhering to the basin, but because he was left in the bath seat … unsupervised over a prolonged period of time.”

Massey and Charlie had previously lived in a mother-and-toddler unit, and a child protection plan had only ended days before the tragedy.

Martin Sharpe, defending Massey, said: “It’s quite clear she did have a very strong bond with Charlie.”

The judge emphasized that Massey’s deliberate choice to leave Charlie alone while distracted on her phone led to the tragedy, sentencing her to prison.