Salimah Elizabeth Ainsworth avoids jail after telling her son to drown his three-year-old ‘devil’ brother in the bath in Kambalda West, Western Australia
Salimah Elizabeth Ainsworth avoids jail after telling her son to drown his three-year-old ‘devilish’ brother in the bath in Kambalda West, Western Australia
- WA mother convicted of drowning toddler in bath
- She told police she had no recollection of the incident
- The lawyer pleaded for a non-imprisonment sentence, citing mental illness
- The judge noted Salimah Elizabeth Ainsworth’s remorse
A single mother who ordered her teenage son to drown his brother in the bathtub to “cleanse him of the devil” has learned her fate in court.
Salimah Elizabeth Ainsworth, 41, was sentenced by Perth District Court on Tuesday but avoided jail time after pleading guilty to the incident at her home in Kambalda West in Western Australia’s Goldfields region.
Despite troubling details about the September 2021 incident coming to light in court, her lawyer successfully pleaded for a non-custodial sentence, citing mental illness and the mother of three’s long-term battle with bipolar disorder.
The court heard that Ainsworth had woken up her 14-year-old son to ask him to bathe his three-year-old brother.
“She said, ‘He’s not my child, he’s the devil’s child,'” prosecutor Laura Hamilton told the court.
A court has heard how Salimah Elizabeth Ainsworth tried to drown her three-year-old son in the bathtub to ‘cleanse him of the devil’
The court heard that after her son Ainsworth filled the bathtub and pushed the toddler under water, hitting his head, WA Today reported.
She held the toddler by the head and arm underwater and he stopped breathing for 10 seconds.
The toddler’s eyes rolled into the back of his head as he finally returned to the surface.
The court heard that Ainsworth ordered her teenage son to take his brother to his father’s house, 200 yards away.
The father wasn’t home and when the boys returned, Ainsworth wouldn’t let the toddler back in.
“Go away, I don’t want you, you are the devil’s child, you can go to your father’s house,” the prosecution told Ainsworth to the boy.
The three-year-old was locked outside naked for hours before concerned neighbors heard the boy’s poignant screams and called the police.
The boy was rushed to Kalgoorlie emergency room and has since made a full recovery, the publication reports.
The court heard that Ainsworth later told police she did not know what she had done and that she could not remember the incident because she was going through a psychotic episode.
Her attorney David McKenzie told the court his client was prescribed antidepressants six weeks before the incident.
“It’s an example of how sick people can get and what they can do while they’re sick,” said Mr McKenzie.
“Your Honor might consider that this isn’t something that isn’t Mrs. Ainsworth’s fault.”
Salimah Elizabeth Ainsworth has since expressed sincere regret over the incident
The court ruled that Ainsworth held the toddler underwater by the head and arm, causing him to stop breathing (stock image)
Judge Troy Sweeney said she should convict Ainsworth despite her “significantly less moral guilt” due to mental illness.
But after acknowledging Ainsworth’s sincere remorse and Judge Sweeney agreeing that jail time would not be necessary,
Ainsworth was sentenced to a two-year intensive supervision order. She must continue to work with mental health professionals and medications as part of the strict conditions.
The court also heard that Ainsworth was keen to reconnect with her youngest son through supervised visits.
Salimah Elizabeth Ainsworth avoided jail time when she was sentenced by Perth District Court (pictured)