LONG BEACH : 6-Year-Old Boy Drowns in Foster Home Bathtub
A 6-year-old boy left unattended in a partially filled bathtub accidentally drowned in Long Beach this week, prompting the county’s Department of Children’s Services to remove the boy’s younger sisters from their foster home, authorities said Wednesday.
George Cooper Jr. drowned in less than 6 inches of water Tuesday night while Annete Clay, his great-aunt and foster mother, was in the kitchen, according to Long Beach police Detective Logan Wren. Dennis Clay, the boy’s great-uncle and foster father, found him dead when he returned from running errands less than an hour after drawing the bath, authorities said.
An autopsy Wednesday ruled the death an accident, Wren said. The Department of Children’s Services is investigating whether the Clays were negligent and have moved the boy’s sisters to another foster home, according to department spokeswoman Lili Ahmadi.
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