A 40-year-old mother remained in custody Wednesday, awaiting possible charges, one day after being arrested 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 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

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