Honk News (Columbus, OH) – A woman from Ohio has been charged after her 3-year-old son tragically passed away due to scalding from hot water at their residence, following an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the child’s death.
On the morning of January 6 at 7:45 a.m., Laronda Mims, 45, made a 911 call to inform authorities that her young son, Emmanuel, had accidentally pulled down a pot filled with hot water from the stove in their apartment. The boy was found unresponsive after water was spilled on him, as reported by the Columbus Division of Police.
He was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where critical interventions were administered. Despite attempts to save him, Emmanuel was declared dead at 8:18 a.m.
Authorities indicated in their report that the details regarding the boy’s death warranted a probe by the Columbus Police Homicide Unit. According to The Columbus Dispatch, Mims was taken into custody by law enforcement but ultimately faced no charges and was released shortly thereafter.
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Court documents revealed that Mims faced indictment from a grand jury on two counts of child endangerment — one classified as a felony and the other as a misdemeanor — along with a charge of involuntary manslaughter. A warrant was issued on the same day as the indictment, January 28.
A local ABC affiliate has reported that Franklin County Children’s Services is collaborating with the family. Latrice Edgington, a neighbor who spoke to the station, mentioned that she had observed police officers at the apartment “numerous times” prior to the boy’s death on Jan. 6. Edgington informed WSYX that the family had just begun residing in the apartment the summer before.
Edgington witnessed first responders carrying Emmanuel away for transport to the hospital on the morning of his passing. She shared with WSYX, “The baby had a little mask on his face … Just seeing him, I was just crying, seeing him wrapped up in that blanket like that.”
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The autopsy on Emmanuel is being carried out by the Franklin County Coroner’s Office to establish the precise cause and manner of his death. The Columbus Dispatch reports that it remains unfinished.