Northeast Nebraska woman charged in death of her child

A northeast Nebraska mother is charged in Burt County with child abuse resulting in death due to negligence after her 14-month-old daughter suffered severe burns and drowned in a bathtub.

Josephine Boschult, 22, was arrested Monday following an investigation by the Decatur Police Department. Her daughter, according to the arrest affidavit, died Aug. 14 at home in Decatur.

First responders arrived to find Boschult giving CPR to a small child on the trunk of a car with her husband and two other adults nearby. An officer noticed the child was "covered in severe burns" as he took over CPR operations.

Decatur Fire and Rescue took the child to a hospital in Onawa, Iowa, where she died. Boschult, according to the affidavit, told police that she was giving her three children a bath and left the 14-month-old in the bathtub while it drained.

Boschult said she received a phone call and left the child in the tub for "five to 10 minutes." She returned to find the baby upside down in the bathtub.

An Iowa medical examiner told police that the child suffered from "first-and second-degree burns" and died as the result of drowning. Boschult told police that the child must have been burned by turning on the hot water while she was out of the room.

A judge ordered Boschult held on $50,000 bail. She must pay 10%, $5,000, to be released.

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