Inset: Selena Doxzon (Milwaukee County Jail). Background: The home where Doxzon’s son drowned in the bathtub last week (Google Maps).
A 28-year-old mother in Wisconsin has been arrested in connection with the death of her 13-month-old son, who drowned when she allegedly left him unattended in a deep bath. Selena Doxzon was taken into custody last week and charged with one count of neglecting a child-consequence is death, court documents show.
According to a copy of the criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime, on May 15, 2025, a woman told investigators she heard her neighbor — later identified as Doxzon — “screaming from the lower unit of the duplex.” When the caller went downstairs, she said she saw Doxzon holding her son. The caller said the boy’s “body was lifeless” and his “skin was blue in color.”
Doxzon was on the phone with 911 at the time and “too upset to effectively communicate,” police said. Paramedics arrived at the Milwaukee home in the 5000 block of 53rd Street a short time later and took over CPR duties from the mother before transporting him via ambulance to Children’s Wisconsin for treatment. Doctors attempted lifesaving procedures, but were ultimately unsuccessful. The boy was pronounced dead at 9:45 a.m., police said.
Doxzon told police that after her 1-year-old and 3-year-old sons woke up between 5:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. that morning, she fed them before running a bath. She said she placed her sons in the tub with the water “level just above the height of [the victim’s] belly” when he was in a seated position.
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After washing the kids, Doxzon said she “decided to let the boys play in the bathtub,” leaving them in the bathroom and going to the kitchen to make pancakes and sausage, which normally take about two to three minutes. When the food was done cooking, Doxzon said she began washing the dishes. She was in the kitchen “making pancakes and sausage” for approximately four minutes when her 3-year-old son walked into the kitchen, soaking wet.
“The Defendant went into the bathroom to get a towel. As the Defendant entered the bathroom, the Defendant observed [the victim’s] body floating in the water face up. [The victim] was unresponsive, with the water near [the victim’s] face. The Defendant immediately pulled [the victim] out of the water and started screaming for help. The Defendant patted [the victim’s] back, but he remained unresponsive. [The victim’s] lips were blue in color. The Defendant placed [the victim] down on the bathroom floor and attempted CPR. As the Defendant gave [the victim] chest compressions, water came out of his mouth.”
An autopsy determined that the toddler’s death was “asphyxiation as a result of drowning.”
Doxzon said she typically bathes her kids separately and only recently started bathing the younger child in the bathtub instead of the sink. The toddler was not able to walk on his own, but could stand up and “cruise” when holding on to things around the home, police said.
In a post-Miranda interview, Doxzon allegedly admitted that she “should have had far less water in the bathtub” for her child’s safety. She also confirmed that she was unable to see the bathroom from the kitchen where she was preparing food.
A judge on Tuesday set Doxzon’s bond at $10,000. She is currently scheduled to appear in court again for a preliminary hearing on May 30.
