Mother to be charged with manslaughter for baby's drowning
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BENTON COUNTY, Wash. -- The Benton County Prosecutor's Office has decided to charge a Benton City mother with 2nd degree manslaughter for the death of her 1-year-old daughter.
Back in November, investigators say Wendi Finkbeiner-Setzer left her baby in the bathtub while she worked on the computer.
Court documents obtained by Action News reveal that the woman's 18-year-old son came home, checked on the girls in the tub and found the baby face-down.
The tub had filled with 10-12 inches of water, according to the documents. Officials suspect the 2-year-old, who was also in the tub, may have turned on the faucet.
"Police noted that water had apparently overflowed from the bathtub because the floor of the bathroom was wet, throw rugs in the bathroom were sopping wet and clothing by the tub was wet," according to the documents.
Finkbeiner-Setzer told investigators she had not been out of the bathroom for more than five minutes.
1-year-old Piper Finkbeiner was determined braindead and taken off life support one week later at Seattle's Children's Hospital.
Here's the full news release from the Benton County Sheriff's Office:
On November 5, 2012 at about 1930 hours, deputies from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Kadlec Medical Center where a one year old child was being treated for symptoms of drowning.
Deputies learned that the mother of the child, Wendi M. Finkbeiner-Setzer (10/8/73) had put her one year old daughter, along with her two year old daughter, into a bathtub of water and then left them alone to work on the computer.
Ms. Finkbeiner-Setzer’s teenage son stopped by the bathroom to check on the girls after about five minutes and discovered the one year old child, face down in the water and not breathing.
Upon discovery of the baby, an ambulance was called which subsequently transported her to the Kadlec Medical Center. After arriving at Kadlec, the baby was then transferred to Seattle Children’s Hospital where she was later declared dead.
After the conclusion of the investigation, the case was forwarded to the Benton County Prosecutor’s Office for review. The Prosecutor’s Office has decided to charge the mother, Ms. Finkbeiner-Setzer with Manslaughter in the second degree.
Sounds like she put them into a dry tub to keep them from running around while she was on the computer?
Such an adorable Baby Girl. Rest in Peace little Piper. A child's death is the most difficult of all. We can only be grateful that the child did not live on as a vegetable.
I once dated a woman whose 2-year-old boy was smothered near-to-death by the father with a pillow, because he was crying too much (the terrible 2s as they say). Mom returned home just in time to revive him. But, he was a complete vegetable for several years until his breathing stopped for good.Â
Father was put away for a long, long time too.
@peace
the child drowned...the mother feels terrible and she is charged with murdering her child on top of that. The love bond between mother and daughter, imprinted on her soul forever. mom got distracted momentarily was all it took for her precious daughter to die. Isn't that punishment enough for the mother. What of the father watching a bowl game?
do we really need to pour salt in the mother's unhealable wounds by charges of murder and putting this in the press.
 . Mom made a mistake. Let her try again if she wants another child. I promise she will do better.
let us pray  for mom who would sell her soul for all eternity to get those minutes back!!!
 @peace There is a difference between manslaughter and murder. In needs only be reckless criminal negligence for manslaughter. Whomever was bathing the child is responsible, and that was clearly the mother. Momentary distraction? A 1 year old should never be left alone in the bath, even for a moment! It's too young.
I am so very sad for this baby!!! And for her mommy!!!
Oh so ever sad!!! Â I use to put my girls in the bath cuz they loved playing in the water...it was a thang...I can see this but I can not imagine that one of my girls would not come get me if something was wrong! So so sad! For mom and sister!
And, I will admit, I left them unattended...all the time! That does not make us bad parents...for those of you that says it does...Are you a parent to more than one child?
 @UsaidWHAT When they're a bit older, sure. But you leave a 1 year old unattended in the bath?
 @PleaseBeSmart no, mine were older...
And does it give you a right to judge? I just don't think so in this case!
 @UsaidWHAT Of course it does. People ALWAYS have the right to judge.
Incredibly stupid and irresponsible woman!!!
You never, EVER, leave an infant in water unattended. You never, EVER, leave a toddler in water unattended. Drowning can occur in 2 inches of water. This is Parenting 101.
 @SAB17 Considering "toddler" is up to age 4, I would have to disagree. I don't see any problem with leaving the room for a moment when your 3 year old is in a few inches of water, especially if you've taught them not to stand up and to sing songs while you're out.
@PleaseBeSmart @SAB17 ---I just wonder if this was the first time she did this. Were the babes water babies? Was their any un(in)tentional foul play from the elder 2-year-old. Was the mother intoxicated? I have so many other questions. But my sympathy is still with the mother no matter what because it is obvious she did not do this on purpose.. I sure hope she si not judged wrecklless and charged with a felony. Having a mother who is a felon will not help her family and will not bring the child back. The guilt trip from hell is punishment enough, and serves a precious lesson for the rest of us even as a reminder/refresher in parenting.
@PleaseBeSmart ---Do not recall the prob cause link being provided until now. A foot of water would have been neck high. So, we evidently are in reckless territory. And, the peace and dignity of the state has been violated...
The next step for the judge is to determine what punishment is necessary to send a powerful message to others not to do what she did. One goal of the justice system is of course to discourage others from doing what she did for the public good. Preventing the death of babies is an obvious public good. And punishment will provide an additional disincentive beyond the loss of ones child. So, I stand corrected by my own definition thanks to PBS.
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And, I stand corrected, by my own historical DAD methods of safe bathtime for kids: (1) Bathing them in the kitchen sink (bleach sink afterwards); (2) Putting a life jacket/floatation device on kids and bathing with them and the dog in the swimming pool (3) Take my sweet time on the toilet with the sportspage, while toddlers are bathing and laughing at me; (4) Mom or Dad can just jump in the tub with the rug rats---saves on the hot water bill!
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 @peace Well then, by your definition, it appears we are in reckless territory.
 @Shannon K Read the probable cause report. It says "Police reports indicate that in Benton county, on or about the 5th day of November, 2012, the defendant told police that she put her two girls, Piper, age one, and Auna, age two, in the bathtub, filled the tub to about 10-12 inches, shut off the water and left the bathroom to work on a computer."I'm not saying the 2 year old didn't turn the water on further, as it appears that she did. The tub was already 10-12 inches filled though. Manslaughter requires no malice. Only criminal negligence. Filling the bathtub that full + leaving a 1 year old alone, and being out of earshot + staying away for that length of time are all extremely negligent.
@Shannon K @PleaseBeSmart ---such is the reason I could not as a judge declare her as "reckless". And, I would not want any tax $ to go toward a lenthy trial. And certainly not any jail time. If Mom just tossed them into a foot of water and walked a way to a distant part of the house, then we are in reckless territory. Too bad the 2-year-old didn't surpass the comfort threshold for bath water temperature, then they would have cried out loudly enough to get her attention I believe.
@PleaseBeSmart@peace "
The tub had filled with 10-12 inches of water, according to the documents. Officials suspect the 2-year-old, who was also in the tub, may have turned on the faucet.
"Police noted that water had apparently overflowed from the bathtub because the floor of the bathroom was wet, throw rugs in the bathroom were sopping wet and clothing by the tub was wet," according to the documents."
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Just wanted to make sure you were reading the same article that I did. She NEVER said she filed the tub that full and then left them alone.Probably like most of us parents who have let our children bathe together she put just an inch or two of water, enough to splash around in, in the pool. Unfortunately she left for too long and the older child was able to turn the water on. She probably didnt notice because it probably wasnt on full blast and the splashing sounds would have been what she expected to hear from the children.
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She did NOT fill the tub, even the officials noted that it was probably from the older child turning it on.
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This is an unfortunate accident that happened. There was no malice in place. There was no intent here. There is no punishment that will beat the ones she holds on her own. She didnt do anything that other parents havent done for a long long long time things just happened and her child died. It happens. It is tragic and it is horrible and it is heartbreaking but dammit it happens every single day. Does that mean that everytime a child dies in an accident that the parent(s) should be locked up and the children that lived should be put in the system??? You cant think of a better way to use our prison system??
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@PleaseBeSmart
@PleaseBeSmart ---yes, blaming it on an hypothetical Dad watching football with his beer and popcorn was a cheap shot. That was the mother's chore at that moment in time. Father was probably out of the house like her 18-year-old was. If only big brother could have arrived a bit sooner. Regret can be as horrible as guilt. Must have been quite traumatic for him to stumble upon such a scene. Hope the whole family can get the therapy they might need.
Thanks for clarifying the difference between manslaughter and redrum. "Reckless" still seems too harsh for this travesty. Branding her as a felon, will not help her or her family.
Sure seems like double jeopardy for Mom. Hasn't she been punished enough? She has not even finished her grieving process
 @peace The story does leave a lot of questions, but the report stated that she said she filled the bath with 10 to 12 inches of water and then left the 1 year old in it unattended. I just can't see how that is anything but reckless. And even if the 2 year old knocked the baby over or pulled her underwater, it doesn't matter... 2 isn't old enough to comprehend anything like that. If the mother is of average IQ she should understand that leaving a 2 year old in 10-12 inches of water with a 1 year old is probably more dangerous than leaving the 1 year old in there alone!
@SAB17 The ability to breed does not equal parenting.Â