A mother was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter after her 2-year-old son drowned during a bath at a home in Placentia.
Officers were called to the home in the area of Main Street and Santa Fe Avenue around 9 p.m. Monday and paramedics rushed the child to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Placentia Police Department.
Investigators determined the boy’s mother, later identified as 40-year-old Melissa Lynn Beisel, was giving the child a bath when she stepped away, then returned to find the toddler face down in the water, police said.
“Her statement to investigators was that she stepped away for a short period to grab something,” added Placentia Police Department Lt. Joe Connell.
The mother was also taken to a hospital for treatment of unspeci