Sunset Park Woman Drowned 2-Year-Old Daughter, DA Says

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — A Sunset Park mom could face up to 35 years in prison for holding her two children's heads underwater, killing her 2-year-old daughter, prosecutors said.

Lin Li, 27, was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and first-degree attempted assault on Wednesday after a jury trial.

Li was charged with holding her 2-year-old daughter's head underwater until she drowned back in 2016. The assault charge was from another incident, just a day earlier, when Li had tried to hold her 4-year-old son's head underwater, too, prosecutors said.

“Melody was a defenseless child who depended on her mother to protect her," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. "It is extremely sad and inexplicable that she lost her life at the hands of the person who should have kept her safe. Nothing will bring Melody back, but with this verdict we make clear that we will bring to justice those who harm our children.”

Prosecutors said that just before 9 p.m. on March 13, 2016, Li took Melody to the bathroom inside their apartment on 47th Street to punish her. She put Melody inside a storage container in the tub filled with water and submerged her head until she stopped struggling, prosecutors said.

Li called 911 afterwards, but Melody was found unconscious and unresponsive by the time emergency responders arrived. She was pronounced dead at Maimonides Hospital at 9:20 p.m.

The Medical Examiner found that Melody had multiple bruises and contusions that were consistent with her being held under water and drowned, the DA's office said.

Li had held her son's head under water just a day before.

She will be sentenced later this month and faces up to 25 years in prison on the manslaughter charge and up to 15 years in prison on the attempted assault charge, prosecutors said.