Attorney calls mother of dead baby a 'child raising children'

TAMPA — Prosecutors say Katrina Brooks' 9-month-old son drowned after she left him with only his toddler sister for as long as 30 minutes in an overflowing bathtub.

On Monday, they began making their case that Brooks should be found guilty of aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect, charges that could send her to prison for decades.

But Assistant Public Defender Samantha Ward asked jurors to consider the misfortune that preceded the tragedy. Brooks was pregnant and a high school dropout by 17. Pregnant again within a year after the first baby. Jobless and isolated with two children in a trailer after her boyfriend landed in prison.

"It's a case about a child who was raising children," Ward said. "She was not abusive or neglectful toward her child. She was alone. She was doing the best that she could for her children, and she forgot that the water was running."

She put her children in the bathtub after her aunt, Sherrill West, stopped by for a quick visit.

The women sat in the den, talking about marijuana. Jurors won't hear that detail, however, because Hillsborough Circuit Judge William Fuente ruled it prejudicial and irrelevant.

West estimated they chatted for 30 to 40 minutes. As she left the trailer, Brooks came running out of the bathroom carrying her limp and blue baby, West said.

The mother would first tell authorities that she had left Gene Vincent Kent unattended for just five minutes. She later admitted it was longer.

Sheriff's deputies asked her to recreate the scene. Assistant State Attorney Anthony Duran said it took at least 11 minutes for the tub to overflow.

Comments on this article

by rockie4218	May 26, 2008 11:27 AM
Notice on every arrest record has a different address and every arrest is for theft of some kind. The 3rd is theft of the life of an innocent child. 4th time theft again. Lock her up!

by Tiara	May 25, 2008 9:45 AM
i have 3 children and im 20 years old and i would never leave them alone in the bath tub ever....it only takes a min to drowned....she should have known that....

by Mat	May 22, 2008 8:30 AM
There should be a jail for stupid people and she should be in it.What an idiot. I knew at her age not to leave any child alone in the tub.

by Nikki	May 22, 2008 8:30 AM
I am a teenage mother and I never ever leave my son alone for a minute,he is two and I know that he is capable of doing anything.She did neglect her child and she was completely stupid for it but not all teenage mothers are irresponsible like she was

by PP	May 21, 2008 9:10 PM
Agree w/Kay and shirley. Kids can drown in a minute. So those who point fingers - you ever leave your kids for a minute? Answer the phone? Door? She ought to "know better" is ignorant to say; people know what is TAUGHT. Parenting is TAUGHT.

by Lenore	May 21, 2008 9:05 PM
I am so sick of this younger generation demanding to be treated like adults then when they get themselves in trouble blame everyone but themselves. If people can't handle having children they shouldn't be having sex.

by tony	May 21, 2008 5:04 PM
people, it's called evolution.

by sheryl	May 21, 2008 2:49 PM
She wasn't "alone". She had at least an "Aunt" close enough to her to discuss drugs. There are so many agencies out there to help "babies raising babies" there's no excuse. She was neglectful. Because of her, that precious baby is gone.

by DK	May 21, 2008 2:47 PM
No sympathy..instead of ABC's in school, this one needed to concentrate on the 3 A's- Abstinence,abortion or adoption! Old enough to have sex,old enough to get pregnant and old enough to DEAL WITH the result and consequences!

by Lea	May 21, 2008 12:22 PM
The misfortune that preceded the tragedy? Everything for this girl was a choice -- getting pregnant, dropping out of school, getting pregnant AGAIN - and then deciding that talking about (and probably doing) drugs was more important than her kids.

by KB	May 21, 2008 12:22 PM
How about examining why these women feel it is necessary to bring children in the world when they cannot possibly care for them properly? It's time to be honest about child rearing--it is a LOT of work and people need to THINK before having kids!!!!!

by Carol	May 21, 2008 10:38 AM
How can the attorney say she was not "neglectful" and that she forgot about the running water in the tub in the same sentence? The attorney sounds as stupid as she is.

by Donald	May 21, 2008 10:38 AM
Great job for all the attorneys involved. As in so many criminal cases, the opinions vary. Each is entitled to his/her opinion, but at the end of the day, it is the jury making the final decision as to guilt.

by citizen	May 20, 2008 5:01 PM
Ignorant person. Drop out at 17, preg w/in 1 year of first pregnancy. With a guy that ended up in jail leaving her in a trailer park. An Aunt visiting talking about drugs knowing she was alone w/2 kids. The child she still has doesn't have a prayer

by fj	May 20, 2008 4:09 PM
She was foud not guilty ...and guilty of a lessser charge. Hope she's sentenced to Probation or something, that would be fair under these circumstances.

by shirley	May 20, 2008 4:04 PM
There should ber help for these girls so they don't end up living alone in a trailer, trying to raise two toddlers. ( black or white) There is no support for these young girls all the money goes to foreign aid and not programs in the states.

by TANYA	May 20, 2008 2:26 PM
YOUNG YES,NEGLECTFUL YES.I TOO WAS A YOUNG MOTHER,BUT NEVER LEFT MY KIDS ALONE NEAR WATER. REGARDLESS OF AGE, NO-ONE "TEACHES YOU TO BE A MOM" YOU LOVE & PROTECT YOUR KIDS, SHE SHOULD BE PUNISHED TO THE MAX & BE STERILIZED TO PREVENT MORE KIDS!!

by ruth	May 20, 2008 2:26 PM
I feel the mom but being a young parent does not warrant the mistake. I was a young teen mom at the age of 16 and had my second child at 18. I never left them alone in the tub. It's common sense. A sorry situation but prison is not the answer either.

by David	May 20, 2008 2:25 PM
It's astonishing the amount of sympathy for a neglectful white woman gets when she allows her child to drown. If this had been a black woman you would have heard the worst about all black people.

by KellyJo	May 20, 2008 2:01 PM
Stories like this should be used in schools and while parents are talking with their young teens about sexual activity. They've got to learn that intercourse automatically makes you a premature adult and comes with adult responsibilities such as kids

by alicia	May 20, 2008 2:01 PM
first of as a single parent which i am, she knew better not to leave a baby or toddler in the tub with water at all unless shes in there with the kids.So whatever punishment she gets, she deserve it because kids should never be left unattended,at all

by Sarah	May 20, 2008 12:02 PM
She should definitely not be excused for being young...Isn't it common sense that you shouldn't leave a baby in the bathtub? And didn't her aunt wonder where the children were?

by N	May 20, 2008 12:02 PM
Katie (his sister that was in the tub with him) is 3 and still remembers Gene. She will tell you that her brother is in heaven. She is going to have to live her life knowing that she was in the tub with Gene when he died. Pray for her!

by Kay	May 20, 2008 9:48 AM
Right on , Ms Martin. An accident indeed. I find it interesting that when pregnant you get all sorts of birthing instruction and then once you have the infant, you are on your own to "train on the job". She was immature and will suffer always.

by Bob	May 20, 2008 9:26 AM
Sad, just sad... this kid had no roll models to learn how to be a mom...she didn't know any better....sad...

by Ms Martin	May 20, 2008 9:26 AM
she should have known better but i believe she never wanted to harm her child. isn't knowing she caused the death of her baby enough punishment? a tragic accident indeed but i'm sure she will never do it again. focus on real murderers and rapists

by a young mom	May 20, 2008 9:25 AM
I was 16 when I got Preg....I never used that excuse I'm a child raising a child. My baby was never left alone. I totally think she should go to jail. That baby is dead because she left it alone. I guess the aunt was more important then her baby.

by diane	May 20, 2008 9:25 AM
hello your not supposed to leave them unattended in the bathtub. this makes me infuriated and there is no excuse. i had my first child at 17 and i would never leave a baby alone in the tub.

by Linda	May 20, 2008 9:25 AM
There are reasons I was allowed to babysit infants when I was a teen: primarily because I was responsible. Responsibility means learning from the mistake, not excusing it; thus "a child raising children" doesn't cut it.

by Christine	May 20, 2008 9:25 AM
a toddler shouldn't be left alone in a tub....but a 9 month old should not have been anywhere near it alone!!!!!

by Pasco Mom	May 20, 2008 9:25 AM
I feel for her, and for those who love her...but still one should NEVER leave a baby alone in or near water. ( I bet she realizes that now) BTW MANY terrific moms are very young.

by S	May 20, 2008 8:06 AM
Let's get real - she wasn't 17 when this happened, she was LEGALLY an adult, if she's 21 now. People not taking personal responsibility is what is ruining this country. I was babysitting infants when I was 13 yo, would never have left a baby in a tub

by a mom	May 20, 2008 8:04 AM
No excuse No excuse No excuse a child is dead now

by John	May 20, 2008 7:38 AM
It's a tough world out there. A parent needs to have priorities in order. Children first before anything. Even a visitor, esp. a visitor who is into drugs. This was a preventable accident. Any good parent knows water and babies don't mix well.

by militarymom	May 20, 2008 7:38 AM
I was also a high school dropout, pregnant at 19, no husband around, living in a foreign country, in the military, off base. I never ONCE forgot the water was running when my baby was in the tub. No matter how her lawyer whines, there's no excuse.