Parents Arrested After Baby, 1 1/2 Found Near Death in Bathtub

The parents of an 18-month-old girl were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of child endangerment after their daughter was found floating face down in a bathtub, police said.

The child, Elizabeth DeArmond, was taken to Brea Community Hospital and later to Children’s Hospital of Orange County, where she was listed in critical condition, La Habra Police Sgt. Phil Stufflebean said.

Elizabeth and her 2 1/2-year-old sister, Heather, were taking a bath unattended when the accident occurred about 7:30 p.m., Stufflebean said.

“The older sister started yelling for their mother and (the mother) found the baby floating face down,” he said.

Police arrived at the family’s apartment in the 600 block of North Ward Street before paramedics and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation as they took the child to the hospital in a squad car, Stufflebean said, adding:

“They couldn’t afford to wait (for paramedics).”

Officers Chris Coelber and Ron Braasch were able to revive Elizabeth, Stufflebean said.

The mother, Diana, who told police that Elizabeth may have been face down in the water for up to three minutes, and the father, Jimmy DeArmond, 26, were arrested after the child was taken to the hospital, Stufflebean said.

As officers tried to question the parents, “there was a general lack of cooperation,” he added.

Both were booked into La Habra Jail and were being held in lieu of $10,000 bail each.

Heather was taken to Orangewood Children’s Home in Orange under protective custody, Stufflebean said.

Authorities say an average of 17 children under age 9 have drowned in Orange County each year since 1978. So far, at least seven children have drowned this year.