A Michigan woman whose baby drowned in the bathtub while she was on the phone with a friend may be released within a year due to a plea deal.
Olivia Miller, 23, entered a plea Monday to involuntary manslaughter in the death of her 8-month-old son Asher Joseph Johnson, who tragically drowned in the bathtub in November 2023 after she left him unattended. Law & Crime reported.
Miller, who was home alone in her Sparta Township home, told several stories about how her baby could have died during the investigation.
Detectives believe Miller spent about 20 minutes on her phone, leading to her son’s drowning.
Olivia Miller, 23, entered a plea Monday to involuntary manslaughter in the Nov. 22, 2023, death of her 8-month-old son Asher Johnson.
Miller’s cause of death was drowning, according to the county medical examiner’s office.
The investigator’s office also determined that the child had been lying on his back for 20 minutes before authorities arrived at Miller’s home, located on the 4600 block of 16 Mile Road Northwest, Grand Rapids.
First responders performed life-saving measures and took the baby to the hospital, but unfortunately the child died.
Baby Asher Joseph Johnson drowned on November 22, 2023 after being left unattended in the bathtub
The Michigan home in Sparta Township where the tragedy occurred
On November 22, 2023, Miller claimed she placed her son in a bathtub and he was sitting upright. The bath was filled with several inches of running water. During that time she went to another room to an adjacent washroom.
When she returned about five minutes later, she found her son floating face up in the water; his nose and mouth were below the surface.
The mother claimed she tried to revive him until first responders arrived.
When investigators obtained Miller’s cell phone, it told a very different story.
According to investigators, Miller’s Dell phone activity showed she used her phone several times between 3:17 p.m. until she called 911 at 3:38 p.m.
According to police, there was only an 18-second pause during that period.
Records showed Miller had twice contacted the mother of the boy’s father — telling her the boy had drowned — in the two minutes before she called 911.
Miller’s attorney Frank Stanley told local ABC13 News that his client has “suffered tremendously emotionally over the death of her child.”
Miller, who is being held at the Kent Correctional Facility, is expected to be sentenced in early November.
Her lawyer Frank Stanley said this WZZM that his client ‘has suffered enormously emotionally from the death of her child.’
He emphasized that this was “not an indication of intent” and called it “a very tragic situation.”
He added, “She loves that child.”