Crew Finds Baby Drowned in Tub, Dad Suffering Overdose

An 18-month-old boy drowned in a bathtub Friday while his father lay sprawled on the bathroom floor of a Silver Lake area apartment suffering from a heroin overdose, a city fire spokesman said.

Firefighters discovered the baby, Michael Nunez, in a bathtub with the faucet on after the apartment manager called to report water streaming out under the door of the one-room apartment in the 4100 block of Santa Monica Boulevard. Firefighters used a pickax to break down the door and enter the unit about 3 p.m. and found the father unconscious.

The boy was taken to Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles, where he was pronounced dead, hospital officials said.

The man, whose name was not immediately available, was treated at Queen of Angels-Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center for a heroin overdose and released into police custody, officials said.

Police Officer Don Cox said he believed the father would be charged with murder.

The boy’s mother came to the hospital to see her son, hospital officials said. Her whereabouts at the time of the drowning are not known, and her name has not been released.