Woman Admits Drinking, Responsibility for Baby's Drowning in Bathtub

A Bentonville woman arrested Wednesday in the bathtub drowning of her baby daughter admitted to police she drank wine, rum and beer before climbing in the bathtub with the 7-month-old child, and described the death as "all her fault."

In Little Rock, chairmen of two Senate committes said a special joint meeting on child care issues in the wake of two Benton County incidents is possible.

Melanie Cummings, 30, is charged with manslaughter and appeared for a bond hearing Thursday afternoon before District Judge Jeff Conner, who granted Prosecutor Van Stone's request for a $100,000 bond. Arraignment is planned April 23 before Benton County Circuit Judge David Clinger.

Cummings appeared Thursday in a green suicide watch vest and was tearful.

She admitted having an alcohol problem, said she "drinks to get drunk," and has passed out before while alone with her child, according to a probable cause affidavit by Investigator Jeremy Felton of the Benton County Sheriff's Office.

Cummings said she took a bath after dinner Tuesday night with her two children -- Brooklynn and 3-year-old son, Christian. Her son climbed out after about 10 minutes. Throughout the evening she drank several beers, a glass of wine and rum and cola, and thinks she fell asleep, she told police.

Her husband, Joseph, was on the telephone that evening for about an hour, talking to his wife's sister, who was with Melanie earlier and bought rum and beer with her.

Joseph Cummings checked on his wife through the bathroom door after 8 p.m., while still on the phone, he later told police. All was fine. About 15 minutes later, after hanging up, he checked again and there was no response.

Because the bathroom door doesn't open from the outside when shut, Joseph Cummings got the door open with a butter knife and found his wife asleep. His daughter was floating face down in the water, he told police. He called 911 and the dispatcher explained how to perform infant CPR.

Melanie Cummings got out of the tub but was incoherent and didn't respond when her husband told her to unlock the front door for the ambulance, he told police. She dressed after paramedics arrived.

Sen. Steve Faris, D-Malvern, is chairman of the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee. He said Thursday he is considering asking for a joint meeting with the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee before the current legislative session is over.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jack Critcher, D-Batesville, said later Thursday that he would "absolutely" favor such a meeting.

Faris disclosed his plan to call a meeting while asked about Brooklynn's death.

Cummings told police she recently went through alcohol treatment and remembered two occasions last year when she passed out drunk while alone with Christian. When she woke, Christian was in front of the television.

Court records also show Joseph Cummings, 35, got a protection order against Melanie Cummings three years ago in Benton County Circuit Court. He said she passed out from drinking alcohol and left Christian, then 3 months, unattended. Later that month, he asked to drop the order of protection, saying he felt comfortable with her seeing their child as long as she was in counseling and not drinking.

Melanie Cummings had a positive drug screen after Brooklynn's birth because she was taking "mini-thins," he told police. She would also sneak alcohol, received outpatient treatment from Decision Point and attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

A dependency and neglect case was opened against Melanie Cummings, but was closed after she "achieved the goals in her case," said Julie Munsell, spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Human Services, earlier this week.

A family member told The Morning News on Wednesday she and family friends made repeated calls to the department, both before and after Brooklynn's birth, seeking help for the children because of Cummings' substance abuse problems.

Brooklynn was dead when she arrived at Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville. Cummings smelled of alcohol and agreed to give blood and urine samples, but Felton said Thursday those hadn't yet been tested.

After police interviewed the parents, they arrested Melanie Cummings on suspicion of manslaughter.

She told police that earlier in the day she went for a drive with her sister, Misty Pruitt, and took Brooklynn. They ate lunch at a pizza parlor in Pineville, Mo., and went to Wal-Mart, where Pruitt bought beer and Melanie bought a bottle of rum. After picking up Pruitt's children in Gravette, they went to Pruitt's house in Hiwasse and Melanie Cummings drank two beers, the affidavit states.

After arriving home, she cooked dinner, drank the wine and rum, and ate with her family. Then she took the bath.

Cummings was also charged with misdemeanor domestic battery, driving while intoxicated and endangering the welfare of their child in 2004, but was found not guilty after witnesses didn't appear, court records show.

She told police she takes antidepressants and suffers from depression, court documents state.

Stone said his office hopes the Department of Health and Human Services will take up the dependency and neglect case again. The judge ordered Cummings not have contact with her son if she posts bond.

She told the judge she's trying to hire a private attorney.

Brooklynn died a week after Benton County authorities arrested a foster parent for sexual assault involving a foster child. Although Brooklyn was never admitted to foster care, lawmakers would like to know more about the case, Faris said.

"My hope is that these incidents happening at the same time are a fluke, by my knowledge of the foster parent situation tells me it's probably not," Faris said. "There are many good foster parents, but too many things have happened for us to think there are bad ones."

Sen. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette, whose district includes the Cummings' home, said he was deeply saddened to hear of the death but had to ask if the problems leading to the death weren't deeper than "what-ifs" about whether a state agency should have intervened. "Families don't even know their neighbors any more," he said.

The Morning News