Katelyn Nardi, 27, was charged with first-degree reckless homicide and neglecting a child resulting in death in court on Monday.
Court documents state that on Oct. 22, her 5-year-old daughter was not feeling well and wanted a bath. Nardi started bathing her and left for at least five minutes to get pajamas. When she came back, she was unresponsive in the tub.
The prosecution also brought up that this is the second child in her care to die. Her 5-month-old daughter died in 2023.
“The facts of this case are of such a nature to demonstrate utter disregard for a child’s life,” said Jacob Collinsworth, assistant district attorney for Lincoln County. “This was not simply leaving a child alone in the bathtub, but leaving her epileptic, epileptic child in a urine-filled, dirty bathtub.”
Court documents also lay out that Nardi and her fiancé were not providing the epilepsy medication to her daughter as prescribed. They had several counseling sessions with doctors advising that leaving her alone in a bathtub could lead to her death.
Lincoln County mother charged in 5-year-old daughter’s death
A mother is in the Lincoln County Jail, accused of neglecting her 5-year-old child, resulting in her death.
