Woman allegedly tries
to drown son in bathtub
Honolulu police arrested a 45-year-old Palolo woman for allegedly trying to drown her 9-year-old son in a bathtub yesterday.
Police said the woman called 911 just before 9 a.m. and said that she had drowned her son.
Police arrived at the home at 1538 Palolo Ave. to find the boy "gasping for air," according to Child Abuse Detective Philip Buchanan.
"The two officers arrived in the nick of time," Buchanan said. "The caller reported that she killed her son, or drowned her son, to that effect."
Paramedics said the child was semi-conscious and in critical condition when they arrived.
He was later upgraded to serious but stable condition at the Kapiolani Medical Center.
Police arrested the woman for suspicion of second-degree attempted murder. As of press time last night, they had not charged her.
Buchanan said that only the victim and the suspect were home at the time of alleged assault.
There was a neighbor's child who was at the home earlier that morning, but he left prior to the alleged assault, Buchanan said.
He would not say whether the child was in the bathtub when police arrived.
