VALINDA — An 8-month-old boy who died Friday is believed to have drowned after his mother left him and his siblings unattended in a bathtub, authorities said.
The baby was identified Sunday as Jedediah Turner, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Investigator Dana Bee said. He was 8 months and 6 days old.
Officials responded to a report of a baby drowning about 8:50 a.m. Friday at a home in the 1500 block of Pass and Covina Road, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said in a written statement.
The unconscious baby was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later, authorities said.
“A preliminary investigation revealed the 25-year-old mother was bathing the infant in a bathtub along with his 1-year-old sister and 2-year-old brother,” according to the sheriff’s statement. “The mother left all three siblings unattended in the bathtub for about 10 to 15 minutes. When she returned, she found the 8-month-old face down in the water and not breathing.”
Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services officials took the baby’s siblings into protective custody as the investigation continues, officials added. No arrests had been made.
An autopsy to determine the baby’s official cause of death had not yet been carried out, Bee said.
No further information was released. The handling detective could not be reached for comment Sunday.
The case is being investigated by detectives from the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau, and anyone with information was asked to contact the bureau at 323-890-5500.