Justin Kidwell.Photo:Burkburnett Police Dept.
Burkburnett Police Dept.
A Texas man is charged with murder after allegedly playing video games while his infant daughter died in the bathtub, authorities say.
Police responded to a distress call regarding “an unresponsive infant” on May 14, 2023 in a Burkburnett home, the statement said.
They recovered an 8-month-old girl from the bathtub who was “tragically deceased,” per the statement.
Kidwell was the only adult in the house at the time, police said.
He allegedly admitted to officers that he placed the child in the bathtub with the water running and went to get his headphones and talk to a friend on Discord, a gaming platform,KAUZreported, citing an arrest affidavit.
He allegedly told officers that he had left the child for anywhere between 30 seconds to a few minutes, the affidavit claimed, according to the outlet. Officers noted in the affidavit that the water was left running long enough to overflow from the bathtub, flood an air vent in the bathroom and dampen the rugs outside the bathroom.
His friend on Discord called 911 when Kidwell allegedly found the child face down in the water, according to the affidavit, the outlet reported.
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He is currently being held on $500,000 bond on the murder charge, court records show.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
