Georgia woman sentenced for 2018 drowning death of infant son

A Houston County mother was sentenced to life in prison for drowning her infant son, according to reports.

Madison Lee Stewart, who is now 22, was arrested in January 2018 after being accused of drowning Hunter Sebastian Stewart, her 16-month-old son, in Warner Robins because he wouldn’t stop crying.

Stewart was sentenced by Judge GE Adams on Thursday in Houston County Superior Court after she pleaded guilty to felony murder. Her sentence includes the possibility of parole, according to news outlet WGXA.

“The Citizens of Houston County need to know that murder and violence will not go unanswered. The loss of life is always tragic. The senseless murder of a child, who had his entire life ahead of him, will not go unanswered,” Assistant District Attorney Greg Winters told WGXA. “I appreciate Judge Adams’ sentence, which reflects the cold-blooded manner of Ms. Stewart’s murder. I am thankful for the excellent work of the Warner Robins Police Department in investigating this case. Our hearts go out to those who loved and knew Hunter.”

Warner Robins officers responded Jan. 26, 2018, to the Safe House after receiving a 911 call about a drowning incident.

Officers saw Stewart walking away and asked her about her son.

When officers asked Stewart a “generic question, ‘Tell me what happened here’ ... basically, she told them she got stressed out and drowned her baby,” Houston County Sheriff’s Capt. Randall Banks told The Telegraph of Macon.

Stewart initially said she was bathing Hunter and found him underwater after she turned her back to grab a towel.

Officers then reportedly asked Stewart why Hunter was fully clothed in the tub. Stewart said “she was stressed out, he wouldn’t stop crying, and my mind went elsewhere. I drowned him.”

Stewart reportedly admitted to drowning her son to other Safe House residents before police arrived, according to investigators.