A New Britain woman charged with manslaughter after falling asleep in the bathtub and causing her infant daughter to drown faced a judge in Superior Court this afternoon.
Erin Lujan, 34, is charged with second-degree manslaughter and five counts of risk of injury to a minor. Lujan told police she was trying to soothe her fussy 7-month-old daughter by taking a bath with the baby.
The child drowned when Lujan fell asleep with the water running, police said.
One of Lujan's four other children, all of whom are now in the custody of the Department of Children and Family Services, noticed water on the floor and woke her up, police said.
"She had been up all night with the baby because she's teething," said Lujan's mother, Deborah Figueroa, who called the drowning a well-intentioned accident. "So she did what I used to do. Get in the tub, let the water drip."
Medical examiners said the baby died from asphyxia due to drowning.
Lujan has a spotty criminal record and was attending meetings to battle alcoholism. The judge said Lujan's actions were reckless and that the allegations against Lujan were "disturbing to say the least."
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Figueroa said the family hopes Lujan can finish her programs and finish putting her life back together.
The judge set Lujan's bond at $100,000 and ordered Lujan to have no unsupervised contact with minors.
Lujan is due back in court Nov. 5.
