Mom found taking bath while her 4-year-old daughter drowned after crash, officials say

HICKMAN, Calif. (Gray News) – A mother in California is facing murder charges after being accused of taking a bath while letting her 4-year-old drown after a crash.

According to the Stanislaus County District Attorney, 26-year-old Juliette Marie Acosta was allegedly driving a car with a blood alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit of .08% when she crashed into an irrigation pond the night of March 8.

Authorities said her 4-year-old daughter, Reagan Herrin Acosta, was in the car with her at the time of the crash.

The district attorney said the charging document states Acosta left her partially submerged car while her daughter remained trapped inside and didn’t try to help her child.

According to the DA’s office, Acosta was found taking a bath while her daughter “remained in peril at the crash scene, and causing the death of a vulnerable victim.”

The Independent reports that Acosta’s attorney, Gil Somera, is disputing his client was taking a bath claiming the timeline doesn’t add up. He told the media outlet prosecutors are trying to “inflame the public’s anger.”

Acosta faces felony charges including murder, vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence causing injury, permitting a child to suffer under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death, and resisting an officer.

If convicted on all charges, Acosta faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to the district attorney.