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Detroit mom charged in bathtub drowning of infant daughter

Prosecutors say the mother had been drinking and was alone in her apartment when she found her daughter unresponsive.
Credit: AP
Jaila Thomas, 22, of Detroit, appears on a monitor during a videoconference arraignment hearing, Thursday morning, Aug. 29,2019, at Detroit's 36th District Court, on charges stemming from her infant daughter's death in a bathtub. Thomas was charged with involuntary manslaughter and second degree child abuse. (James David Dickson/Detroit News via AP)

DETROIT (AP) — A woman who authorities say told them she found her 18-day-old daughter floating face down in a bathtub at her Detroit apartment has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

The Wayne County prosecutor's office announced charges Thursday against 22-year-old Jaila Thomas following the death of Lauren Williams. She's due in court later in the day and also faces a second-degree child abuse charge.

Court records Thursday morning didn't list a lawyer for her.

Prosecutors say Thomas had been drinking and was alone in her apartment Monday morning when she found the girl unresponsive. Medics pronounced the girl dead and prosecutors say she drowned.

Prosecutor Kym Worthy called the allegations in the case "appalling," saying in a statement that the child shouldn't have died "if a person is 'a little' intoxicated."

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