A Philadelphia foster mother has been charged with murder nearly nine months after a 20-month-old boy drowned in her bathtub, prompting outrage from the child's biological family.
Apalosnia Watson, 39, faces third-degree murder and child endangerment charges in the death of Sy’vir Hill, according to court records. The incident occurred on April 15 last year at her home in the Harrowgate neighborhood.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Watson left Sy’vir and two other young children, aged 4 and 2, unattended in the bath while she went downstairs to heat food. She reportedly heard splashing but returned to find the toddler face down in the water. Despite her attempts at CPR and paramedics' efforts, Sy’vir was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office initially left the cause and manner of death pending for nine months, a delay criticised by the boy's mother, Sharee Collins, and her attorney. A judge later ordered the office to certify the findings, which ruled the death a homicide by drowning.
Collins has filed a civil lawsuit against Tabor Children’s Services and Northeast Treatment Centers, alleging they placed her son in an overcrowded home. Watson's attorney maintains the death was a tragic accident and that she has committed no crime.
