Judge Hands 5-Year Sentence to Dad Who Left 9-Month-Old Daughter Unsupervised in Bath

Baby Drowns in Bath Daniel James Gallagher Baby in unsupervised bath manslaughter involuntary manslaughter

By Mavic Thompson , Parent Herald Jul 25, 12:19 pm

A warning to parents who are babysitting their kids: never leave them unattended, even for a few minutes.

The Australian court recently sentenced a 26-year-old dad to five years in jail after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The dad left his nine-month-old daughter in the bathtub unsupervised while the tap water was running. Daniel James Gallagher missed his daughter's life for seven minutes to fix an electrical problem, smoke, and scroll through Facebook on his cellphone.

Chris Cook, the Crown prosecutor, said that although the father is remorseful, he stresses that the death was "not an accident." He also told the court that what the father did was beyond reckless as his actions caused his daughter's death.

According to ABC.Net News Australia, the court also heard how a similar incident had occurred days before while the baby was in the care of his father. The mom, Shaylan Gallagher, said that days before Leah died, she arrived at Gallagher's home and found their daughter in the bath alone in 10-12 centimeters of water in the tub while the father was smoking.

As per the father's defense, Andrew Hoare, the father had been "distracted by extraneous, irrelevant matters" and failed to realize the risk of drowning.

Justice Peter Applegarth, who handed the sentence, said that the incident where the mom found Leah unsupervised while in a bath should have served as a wake-up call to the dad.

Never leave kids unattended, even for a minute

The incident happened in the dad's home in Queensland, Australia, on April 2, 2021. Gallagher placed the baby in a bath while the water was still running. He left to go to the power box to fix an electrical problem. After turning off the safety switch, he headed outside the home, smoked cigarettes, and scrolled through Facebook for a few minutes.

According to The Sun, when the dad returned to Leah, he found her unconscious and "floating face down" in the overflowing bathtub. He then called emergency services and attempted CPR before the paramedics arrived. He left her daughter unattended for seven minutes.

Shaylan, who separated from her high school sweetheart Gallagher in 2020, also rushed to the home to try to save her baby girl.

Responders took the baby to the Hervey Bay Hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival. The dad pleaded guilty to manslaughter for leaving the child alone in the bath with water running.

Raising awareness for child safety

According to Daily Mail, Shaylan said she is serving a life sentence after losing her daughter. In a statement at the court, she said she had experienced great pain and physiological damage. She shared that when she received a call that Leah was unconscious, she screamed and bawled her eyes out.

Since then, the mom has been working to raise awareness for child safety, stressing that it is crucial to follow your gut feeling. She now tells moms that "you have motherly instincts for a reason."