A child drowned in a bathtub: in Mykolaiv his mother was sentenced to four years, but was exempted from imprisonment

Inhulskyi District Court of Mykolaiv handed down a sentence to a 23-year-old woman who left her two-year-old son unsupervised in the bathroom. The child drowned. The mother was sentenced to four years of imprisonment, but was released from serving the sentence with a one-year probationary period. This is stated in the verdict of the court of 19 August 2026.

The incident occurred on 7 April 2026 in Mykolaiv. According to the case materials, the woman left her son in the bathroom with the water running and the drain closed, and she went to another room and fell asleep. Approximately two hours later the mother found the boy without signs of life. She pulled him out of the water and tried to perform resuscitation on her own, but the medics who arrived at the call declared the child’s death. The cause of death was drowning in water — mechanical asphyxia, the Mykolaiv region police reported.

The woman’s actions were qualified under Part 3 of Article 135 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — abandonment in danger that caused a person’s death. The prosecutor and the defendant reached a plea agreement and asked the court to approve it. The woman fully admitted guilt and expressed remorse.

When determining the punishment, the court took into account her sincere remorse, cooperation with the investigation, the absence of aggravating circumstances and a positive report from the probation authority. It was also noted that the woman is not registered with a psychiatrist or narcologist. The court approved the agreement and sentenced the mother to four years of imprisonment. At the same time, she was released from serving the sentence on probation, with a probationary period of one year. During this period the convicted person must regularly report to the probation authority and notify them of any change of residence or employment.