A Milwaukee woman was charged with first-degree reckless homicide and child neglect in the scalding death of her 2-year-old daughter, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Lisa M. Simmons, 41, was charged Wednesday in the death of Zayanna Simmons, Authorities said Simmons failed to seek medical help because she had an open child protective services case pending, WISN reported.
Fire department paramedics found the child dead Sunday after Simmons called 911 to report that the toddler was not breathing, her legs were stiff and she was turning blue, the Journal Sentinel reported. An autopsy found that Zayanna died from complications of thermal burn injuries, the newspaper reported.
According to a criminal complaint, Simmons told police her daughter had chemical burns in her diaper as a result of chemicals from a bug bomb, WISN reported.
Simmons finally admitted that she put the toddler in the bathtub in hot water that was chest-high but pulled her out when she realized it was too hot, according to the criminal complaint. However, investigators determined that Zayanna had to have been in the water for a much longer time to have suffered her severe burns, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Prosecutors said Zayanna had been returned to her mother in May and that a child protective services worker had visited the family Wednesday, WISN reported.
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