KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — UPDATE 4 PM WEDNESDAY:
A Knox County General Sessions Court judge declined Wednesday to lower the murder charge placed against a Knox County mother whose 11-month-old son was left alone in a bathtub and drowned last month.
Judge Patricia Hall Long said Lindsee Leonardo should face first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse charges as originally filed by the Knox County Sheriff's Office. Defense attorney Susan Shipley sought Tuesday in a hearing for her client to face a lower homicide charge, arguing the child's death was unintentional.
Long weighed case law overnight.
A Knox County grand jury now will hear proof from the prosecution about the case. They can choose to indict for first-degree murder or and elect to recommend no charge at all.
UPDATE 1:30 PM TUESDAY: A Knox County General Sessions Court judge said she'd issue a ruling Wednesday in the case of a Knoxville woman charged with murder in the drowning death of her infant son.
Lindsee Leonardo, 32, is accused in the January death of her 11-month-old. She faced a preliminary hearing Tuesday to determine if there was probable cause to believe she committed first-degree murder.
She also is charged with aggravated child abuse.
A Knox County Sheriff's Office detective with the child abuse unit testified that Leonardo told her she had stepped away to take some "me time," leaving the child for a time in the bathtub earlier this month.
The detective testified Leonardo also reported smoking a cigarette and listening to a couple songs when she stepped away from the child.
The defense argued Leonardo should be charged with criminally negligent homicide and not first-degree murder. It cited a new case relevant to Leonardo to which the case law applies.
Knox County prosecutors also signaled they were unaware of the case. The judge chose to recess that case with a ruling expected Wednesday.
If Judge Patricia Hall Long finds there's probable cause that Leonardo committed a crime, the case will be forwarded to a grand jury for review and possible indictment.
PREVIOUS STORY: After her 11-month-old child was found unresponsive in a bathtub, Lindsee Leonardo is due in court Tuesday. It will be a preliminary hearing for first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse charges.
According to arrest records, she put her 11-month-old child in a bathtub along with her other, 23-month-old child and between 4-6 inches of water. She then went outside to smoke a cigarette and have some "me time" for around ten minutes, arrest records show.
When she returned to the tub, she found that the 23-month-old child had turned the water on. The tub was full, and the 11-month-old was unresponsive, according to arrest records.
Emergency crews revived the child, but he later died at East Tennessee Children's Hospital.