More Information After 7-Year-Old In Bath For 12 Hours Dies

CLEARWATER, FL — A Clearwater woman has been arrested on charges of child neglect after police said she left her boyfriend's 7-year-old son in the bathtub for 12 hours.

According to Clearwater police, 33-year-old Shantay Belcher called 911 at 8:45 a.m. Sunday to report that her boyfriend’s son, Kyrie Gordon, was non-responsive.

Rescuers arrived at 1450 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. and found the child unconscious. He was taken to Morton Plant Hospital where he was pronounced dead at shortly after 10 a.m.

Lt. Michael Walek provided more details of what took place in the last hours of the little boy's life.

He said Belcher was caring for her boyfriend's son as well as her own three children when the 7-year-old fell asleep on his bedroom floor around 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

Belcher told detectives she was unable to wake him so she left him sleeping. A short time later, her 10-year-old son told her that Kyrie was gasping for air.

Instead of calling 911, Walek said she had her son help her put the child into a bath of cold water and left the child in the bathtub for 12 hours.

She checked on him a few times overnight and found him still non-responsive, but did not call 911.

At about 8 a.m., she realized the child was not breathing and called the boy’s father at work. She called 911 shortly after he came home.

The child was taken to Morton Plant Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Belcher told detectives she didn't know why she didn't call for help sooner.

Although she's currently being held in Pinellas County Jail on $20,000 bail on charges of child neglect, more charges could be added when the autopsy results come in.