Police: Mom watched 'Idol' while tot nearly drowned


By Vic Ryckaert
vic.ryckaert@indystar.com

Indianapolis police say a mother of five was watching “American Idol” while her 3-year-old girl nearly drowned in a bathtub last week.


Sheila R. Brooks, 25, has not been charged in connection with the near drowning of Sirius Brooks on Thursday at a home in the 9300 block of East 42nd Street.

Sirius was in critical condition Friday at Methodist Hospital. She remained at Methodist on Monday, but hospital spokesman Gene Ford said he is not releasing any information at the family’s request.

Brooks left Sirius and her 1-year-old sister, Sereena, in the tub with about 9 inches of water and went into another room to get clothes, according to a police report made public Monday.

Brooks was in her bedroom when her oldest daughters, Daesheana Twyman, 7, and Dasianaye Twyman, 5, entered the room, police said.

“Daesheana stated that they were … watching ‘American Idol’ on TV … and her mother suddenly stated that she forgot and left the two youngest children in the tub,” Officer Gustavia Dodson wrote in the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report.

Brooks told Daesheana to take the children out of the tub, police said. Daesheana found Sirius submerged and called for her mother.

Brooks performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation while her brother, Darnell Wilson, 38, called 911, police said.

Police found about an ounce of marijuana, five burnt marijuana cigarettes and a scale in the house, according to the report.

Daesheana, Dasianaye, Sereena and a 4-year-old girl not named in the report were placed in protective custody, police said.

A stupid TV show is more important than watching her babies? Apparently Britney Spears isnt America's only brain-dead Mom :mad:

No charges are being pressed AT ALL? Like I said in another mother ignoring her kids thread: we can sue because a dry cleaner lost a button on a pair of pants but when to mother's ignoring there kids, nothing is done. What is this world coming to :ohno:

....are you SERIOUS?! i hope charges are filed against her for being STUPID. child endangerment, for one.
people seriously need to take iq tests before they can have children. some people are too dumb to be allowed to have kids.
this reminds me of the mother in southern california whose thirteen month old baby drowned in a pool, her second child to die from drowning, because she was too busy getting drunk. sigh.
i really hope they press charges & her kids are taken away from her, especially since marijuana was found in the house.

Well, her kids HAVE been taken away, for the moment, at least

That woman isn't getting her children back if she's sentenced.

Some people shouldn't have children!

I am not excusing her but as a mother myself there were a couple of times that I got busy doing something and completely forgot to watch my kids. Twice my 1 year old got out onto the road while I was weeding my flower bed or doing yard work. Talk about feeling guilty! Oh, that was scary! I had always considered myself a responsible parent but unfortunately these things do happen in life. :eek:

will she be able to watch her beloved AI in jail? :lol:

seriously tho, when you sign up to have kids (and you do since there's always abortion and adoption, but when you choose to have and raise your kid, you signed up), priorities have to change and the kid should be more important than a TV show.

I wonder if she was "high" since the police did find marijuana, scales and blunts in her home? :rolleyes:

Some women shouldn't be allowed to have a uterus! :mad: Mother of 5! Take those babies away from that woman before she destroys them!

I wonder if she was "high" since the police did find marijuana, scales and blunts in her home? :rolleyes:

She probably was high. That is probably why she forgot about her kids in
the bathtub.

I wonder if she was "high" since the police did find marijuana, scales and blunts in her home? :rolleyes:

she probably was. i wouldn't be surprised if she was. oy.