Judge gives Etna mom probation in infant son’s drowning death
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A judge on Monday sentenced an Etna woman to probation in the drowning death last year of her 1-year-old son in a backyard pool.
Brittany Garrison, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter, court records show. Prosecutors dropped charges of endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person.
Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski sentenced Garrison to five years of probation.
Garrison took her son, Leo, and a sibling to swim in an aboveground pool in her backyard on Sycamore Street around 3 p.m. on July 27, 2023, according to Allegheny County Police.
Police said Garrison put her son in the pool in a red-and-yellow, two-seat “float” without a life jacket. Then, police said, she left him unattended and went inside with the sibling.
A short time later, Leo was found in the pool, unresponsive, and off the float, according to police. First responders rushed Leo to the hospital, where he died 14 days later.
Police arrested Garrison on March 21. She was released from jail that day on a nonmonetary bond.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment beyond confirming Garrison’s sentence.
Garrison’s lawyer, Rachael Santoriella, did not return calls Monday seeking comment.