Shannon Johnson Admits Playing Facebook Game As Son Drowned

According to Denver's ABC 7 News, the mother of a one-year-old boy confessed she had been busy on Facebook when her son, who had been left unattended, drowned in the tub.

Citing an arrest affidavit, ABC 7 News reports, "Shannon Johnson, 34, admitted to police that she was on Facebook playing Cafe World, checking on a friend's status and sharing videos in the living room, while her son was in the bathtub. Johnson told police her son was playing in the bathtub for about 10 minutes and she checked on him once. Johnson said that about three more minutes went by and she didn't hear her son playing, so she went to check on the baby and saw him sideways with his face in the water, according to the arrest affidavit."

The affidavit also notes that when asked why she would allow a one year old to be in the bath alone, Johnson said that the child was a "very independent baby" and explained that she "didn't want him to be known as a mama's boy."

Tragically, this is not the first such occurrence. A South Korean couple was found guilty of letting their baby starve, even as they cared for and raised a virtual child in a video game.

(via Switched)
WATCH:

Comments

[darby bazile]

11:41 PM on 03/05/2011

Wow! The addiction to FB is unbelievable.

[lostweight10]

12:53 AM on 02/17/2011

Updates Video of the Day!
http://www.uvioo.com/vid/?af=1280784&u=oyes&so=yt&skin=1&v=QWNoiVrJDsE

[lostweight10]

11:21 PM on 02/04/2011

HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Deryn Harris]

04:29 AM on 01/20/2011

Cafe World isn't even that much fun!

(sorry, sorry....)

[zannamar]

07:20 PM on 01/18/2011

Neglect is neglect it matters not the reason.

[huffponewbie]

02:58 AM on 01/16/2011

reinstate the .edu requirement

[GrantRobertson]

12:53 AM on 01/16/2011

I agree with many here who say this woman was a bad parent. Especially since she was actually playing a game when her son drowned. But don't blame the technology. When I was one year old (49 years ago) I almost drowned in the bathtub because my mother went to answer the telephone. She thought I would be OK for "just a minute." When she came back in, I was face first in the water. And no, she wasn't a "telephone addict," though I have known many who were. She could have just as easily gotten distracted by someone knocking on the door or by the cat knocking something over.

My mother was not neglectful. She was simply a young, inexperienced mother who didn't realize how quickly things can go horribly wrong. Rather than spend our time judging this woman, perhaps we should take it as a life lesson and use it to remind all young parents of how careful they must be all the time.

[Captain Ron]

11:16 PM on 01/15/2011

Hopefully, she won't have any more children.

[52tucker]

09:38 PM on 01/15/2011

Facebook is not that interesting. Sad lives.

[twninja]

04:14 PM on 01/15/2011

the least thing she could have done is play her game in the bathroom . . .

[kanemakua]

01:46 PM on 01/15/2011

Perhaps the mother's prosecution for neglect resulting in death will give this deluded woman a chance to reflect on her conduct and how it directly resulted in her child's death. based upon the reported responses by the mother in the charging affidavit, she is rationalizing her neglect of the child by implying that the child elected to be left alone and was thus responsible for himself.

[luke2134]

12:27 PM on 01/15/2011

Just another example of the 'dumbing down' of America by means of Facebook. How sad

[Jeanne Duvall]

12:01 PM on 01/15/2011

There have always been negligent parents... don't blame technology.

[Ylmaz Kaba]

11:34 AM on 01/15/2011

http://cs-turkey.blogcu.com
Technology and games has changed the roles parents play with their children.

[PCPrincess]

10:26 AM on 01/15/2011

Let's not blame the game here. If it wasn't the game she was playing while she left the baby un-attended, it would have been the TV or the cell-phone. I'm sure this wasn't the first time she left the boy in the bathtub alone. LOL, it's funny we jump to conclusions because she was on the PC.