Mom who ‘routinely and negligently’ left her child in a bathtub claims she fell asleep when her 20-month-old son drowned during a bath

Kayla Bevar, 21, from Iowa, has been charged with child endangerment resulting in death following the drowning of her 20-month-old son in a bathtub.

The incident occurred on the evening of October 31, and Bevar was arrested on December 4 after an investigation.

According to the West Des Moines Police Department, emergency services were called to Bevar’s home at around 7 p.m. that night. Bevar told authorities she had fallen asleep and woke to find her son unresponsive, floating in the overflowing bathtub. The child was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead.

Court documents reveal that Bevar admitted to leaving her son unattended in the tub while it was filling with water. She claimed to have periodically checked on him but eventually fell asleep.

Investigators say Bevar later admitted to routinely leaving her son alone in a filled bathtub for “five-minute increments” — an act police described as “negligent.”

When officers arrived at the apartment, they found the home in a state of disarray, with trash and spoiled food scattered on the floors.

The bathroom contained diapers with exposed fecal matter, and investigators noted there was no food appropriate for a toddler or children’s clothing in the home.

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Bevar now faces two felony charges: child endangerment resulting in death and neglect or abandonment of a dependent person. She is currently being held at the Polk County Jail on a $1 million cash-only bond