Bartow police have arrested a mother on a charge of aggravated manslaughter after police say her 14-year-old child died from a methamphetamine overdose.
Audra Watson-Pender, 39, was located in Lake Wales Friday evening and taken into custody.
Police said Pender’s daughter ingested methamphetamine she found in her mother’s bedroom on Friday.
She allegedly suffered from the overdose for six hours before receiving medical attention.
Matthew Wayne Christian, 20, the victim’s boyfriend, was also arrested.
Police said neither Pender nor Christian summoned emergency medical care for the child.
They placed her in a “cold water” bath in an attempt to alleviate symptoms.
Pender told Christian that she had drugs in the house and due to the circumstances, she could not have police arriving at her home.
Only after removing evidence of narcotics from the home and after the child became unresponsive did Pender call for help, approximately 6 hours after being notified her child was in danger.
The victim was taken to a hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
Investigators said that had Pender sought help for her daughter even two hours earlier, she would have survived.
Pender is charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and tampering with physical evidence.
Christian faces charges of aggravated manslaughter, as well as charges of child pornography stemming from naked photos of the victim found on his phone during the investigation.
