A 3-year-old boy died after being found face-down in a backyard pool in Evansville, Indiana, on Saturday afternoon, September 19. His mother, 41-year-old Amie Jo Farber, has been charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death.
Police were called to a home on North Second Avenue shortly before 5 p.m. after witnesses discovered the child unresponsive in the pool. Someone pulled him from the water and began CPR before emergency crews arrived. The boy was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The child’s name has not been publicly released.
According to investigators, Farber arrived at the home with her son at about 2:30 p.m. after asking the homeowner if the child could use the backyard pool. She was expected to supervise him while he swam.
The homeowner told police that the boy was using a pool float while Farber remained outside. At one point, the homeowner went inside for roughly 10 minutes. When he returned, investigators say he found Farber unresponsive in a patio chair and the child in the water with the float overturned.
Police said Farber appeared impaired when officers arrived. Investigators also reported that she had consumed about five 25-ounce cans of Bud Ice during the roughly two hours she was at the home.
Newly released 911 audio provides more detail about the moments immediately after the child was discovered. A caller told the dispatcher that the boy was not breathing, while witnesses could be heard trying to wake Farber. One person reportedly shouted that she was “passed out drunk.”
At the hospital, Farber allegedly told investigators that she had briefly gotten into the pool before sitting down in the patio chair. She said she “must have fallen asleep” and later told officers, “This is all my fault,” according to police.
Investigators obtained a warrant for a blood test to determine whether alcohol or other substances were present.
Farber is currently being held in the Vanderburgh County Jail on a $25,000 cash bond. She is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.
Court records also show that Farber had a previous neglect case in 2023. Police then responded after a family member reportedly found her intoxicated while she was caring for an infant. That earlier case is separate from the current investigation.
The latest investigation remains focused on the circumstances surrounding the boy’s death and Farber’s alleged failure to supervise him while he was in the pool.
The Evansville Police Department has not publicly released the child’s identity. Farber’s current charge is an allegation, and the case will proceed through the court system.
