Joselyn Sauer, a 10-month-old female residing in Tarrant County, Texas, drowned in a bathtub on January 10, 2023, while in an open CPS family-based safety services case that had been opened for neglectful supervision concerns. Her father, who was the sole caregiver at the time while the mother slept, reported placing the child in a reclined infant bath seat and leaving to wash bottles in the kitchen. He claimed to have been gone for only two minutes, but medical staff estimated the child was unattended for 12 to 20 minutes. Law enforcement observed evidence suggesting the father had been playing video games rather than doing dishes — an Xbox console was on with a timed-out controller and headphones appeared hastily removed, while the sink still had dirty dishes and the dish rack was dry. Upon finding the child unresponsive, the father alerted the mother to call 911 and performed CPR. The child was transported to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with a submersion injury, and she remained in intensive care for approximately 17 days before being pronounced dead. The father was arrested for Injury to a Child - Serious Bodily Injury. There had been 3 prior CPS investigations involving the family.
Contexts/Conditions
Is there any mention of child drug ingestion or overdose?
Is there any mention of a drowning incident (either intentional or accidental)?
Document 1 states "the child drowned in a bathtub." Document 2 lists the alleged cause of death as "DROWNED" and describes a submersion injury: "Medical Staff advised the child was diagnosed with a submersion injury and stated the child likely had been left unattended between 12-20 minutes, and drowned sometime in that timeframe."
Is there any mention of a firearm incident?
Is there any mention of inappropriate supervision (e.g., child wandered off and drowned)?
The fatality report (Document 1) states the FBSS stage was opened "due to concerns of neglectful supervision of the child." The DFPS summary (Document 2) describes the father leaving the 10-month-old child unattended in a bathtub: "The father reported he placed the child in a reclined infant bath seat inside of the bathtub while he went into the kitchen to wash bottles and prepare a bottle for the child." Medical staff estimated the child "likely had been left unattended between 12-20 minutes, and drowned sometime in that timeframe." Law enforcement further suspected the father was playing video games rather than attending to duties while the child was in the bath.
Is there any mention of inflicted injury? (e.g. slapped, punched, kicked, choked)
Is there any mention of malnutrition, starvation, or dehydration?
Is there any mention of medical neglect?
Is there any mention of a motor vehicle crash or incident?
Is there any mention of a murder-suicide incident?
Is there any mention of outdoor elements (including hot car deaths)?
Is there any mention of prenatal substance exposure (including fetal alcohol syndrome or neonatal abstinence syndrome)?
Is there any mention of sexual abuse?
Is there any specific mention of shaken baby or abusive head trauma?
Is there any mention of prolonged abuse or torture (including restraints, captivity)?
Is there any mention of an unsafe sleeping environment?
Individuals Involved
Was an adoptive parent or guardian involved in the death?
Was a biological father involved in the death?
Document 2 consistently refers to the male caregiver as "the deceased child's father" and "Father" throughout the narrative, describing him as the sole caregiver at the time. The text does not use qualifiers such as "stepfather" or "boyfriend," and in the DFPS investigation context the term "father" typically denotes the biological father. He was the one who left the child unattended in the bathtub, directly leading to the drowning.
Was a biological mother involved in the death?
Was a day care worker, babysitter, or nanny involved in the death?
Was a female paramour or friend involved in the death (e.g., girlfriend, stepmother)?
Was a foster parent involved in the death?
Was a male paramour or friend involved in the death (e.g., boyfriend, stepfather)?
Was another adult relative involved in the death? (e.g., grandfather, aunt)
Was a sibling involved in the death?
Child Characteristics
Was the child adopted?
Was the child homeschooled (including "cyberschooling") or taken out of school?
Was the child in foster care at the time of the incident?
Was the child living with relatives at the time of the incident (but not parents)?
Is there any mention of a neurological developmental child disability? (e.g., autism, intellectual disability, nonverbal)
Is there any mention of a physical child disability? (e.g., feeding tube)
Is there any mention of prematurity or low birthweight?
Is there a history of child protection reports prior to death (for this child or siblings)?
Document 2 explicitly states "Previous CPS Investigations: 3." Additionally, Document 1 notes the FBSS stage was opened on September 14, 2022, "due to concerns of neglectful supervision of the child," indicating prior CPS involvement before the fatal incident on January 10, 2023.
Does the child have a history of foster care (but not in care at time of incident)?
Is there a history of a sibling death (separate incident from this death)?
Parent/Caregiver Factors
Was an adult charged or arrested for the child's death?
Document 2 states: "the father was arrested for Injury to a Child - Serious Bodily Injury." This arrest is directly related to the child's death.
Is domestic violence by the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is there any mention that the death occurred in a temporary shelter or while homeless?
Is an intellectual disability of the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is the mental health of the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is a history of arrests or criminal charges for the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is substance use by the parent/caregiver referenced?
Notable Details
Several notable details emerge from the source text. First, there is a significant discrepancy between the listed date of death (1/10/2023 in both documents) and the DFPS narrative in Document 2, which states "The child remained in the hospital from the day of the incident until she was pronounced deceased 17 days later," suggesting the actual date of death was approximately January 27, 2023, not January 10. Second, this case represents a significant systemic concern: the child was already in an open CPS family-based safety services (FBSS) case opened specifically for "neglectful supervision" at the time of the drowning, and Document 2 notes there were 3 previous CPS investigations. The child died from the very type of harm (neglectful supervision) that the open case was meant to address. Third, law enforcement's observations strongly contradicted the father's account: "Law Enforcement observed the sink to have dirty dishes in it and the dish rack and basin were dry, with no appearance of dishes being cleaned. Additionally, Law Enforcement noted an Xbox game console was on and it appeared as if someone had been playing. The screen was grayed out indicating the controller had timed out. Headphones were observed nearby and appeared as if they had been taken off in a rush." Medical staff estimated the child was left unattended 12-20 minutes, far exceeding the father's claim of 2 minutes.
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