Background: The South Franklinton, Ohio, neighborhood where Laronda Mims’ son was allegedly burned (Google Maps). Inset: Emmanuel Mims (GoFundMe).
An Ohio woman whose 3-year-old son died after being scalded by hot water at home has been indicted following an investigation into the boy’s death.
One morning on Jan. 6, at 7:45 a.m., Laronda Mims, 45, phoned 911 after her young son, Emmanuel, accidentally spilled a pot of scalding water on himself in their apartment. The Columbus Division of Police reported that the boy was unresponsive, and despite efforts at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, he tragically passed away at 8:18 a.m.
Authorities mentioned that the circumstances of the incident prompted an investigation by the Columbus Police Homicide Unit. While Mims was initially taken into custody by the police, she was later released without charges.
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Legal documents revealed that Mims faced indictment by a grand jury on various charges related to the incident, including endangering a child and involuntary manslaughter. The indictment was issued on Jan. 28, and a warrant was subsequently issued on the same day.
WSYX, a local ABC affiliate, reported that Franklin County Children’s Services was working with the family. Latrice Edgington, a neighbor who spoke to the station, also said that she had seen police officers at the apartment “numerous times” before the boy’s death on Jan. 6. Edgington told WSYX that the family had only started living at the apartment the previous summer.
Edgington saw first responders bringing Emmanuel out to transport him to the hospital on the morning he died. She told WSYX, “The baby had a little mask on his face … Just seeing him, I was just crying, seeing him wrapped up in that blanket like that.”
The Franklin County Coroner’s Office is conducting an autopsy on Emmanuel to determine his exact cause and manner of death. It has not yet been completed, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
