A 29-year-old Florida woman, Karina Mustafa, is currently in custody after allegedly submerging her toddler son’s head under water in a bathtub. The incident reportedly occurred after the child knocked over potted plants while playing, covering himself in dirt and muddy water.
The Daytona Beach police department reported that the child’s survival is due to the quick actions of his father and first responders. The police were called to a near-drowning incident at a local residence around 12:45 p.m. on Friday.
According to the arrest affidavit, the child was playing outside the house when he accidentally knocked over a potted plant. This led to an argument between Mustafa and the child’s father. Mustafa allegedly threatened to take the child to the middle of the street to be hit by a car. Instead, she took the child to the bathroom and locked the door, preventing the father from entering.
Mustafa reportedly confessed to submerging the child’s face in water. When she finally opened the door, the father found the child unconscious in the bathtub. He performed CPR, successfully reviving the child. Mustafa, however, allegedly did nothing to assist.
First responders arrived at the scene and immediately transported the child to the hospital, where he is currently in stable condition. The police found a small amount of dirt in front of the house, corroborating the initial incident with the potted plant.
In a subsequent interview with detectives, Mustafa admitted to submerging the child’s face under water after he knocked over the potted plant and dirtied his clothes. She later changed her story, claiming she “slapped” the child after he pulled her fingers and damaged her nails. She also claimed she held the child down in the bathtub because he would not stay in the water, and that she held his head under the water for “no more than one minute.”
Mustafa described the child as “out of control” and having several behavioral issues. She also claimed to believe that the child is possessed by the “diablo,” Spanish for devil.
Mustafa was arrested on charges of aggravated child abuse and is currently being held at the Volusia County Jail on a $100,000 bond.