Parents plead guilty in young daughter's pool drowning death
MANAHEIM, Pa. (AP) - The parents of a 3-year-old girl who drowned in her family's swimming pool after she wandered away while they slept have pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges.
Authorities say Susie Rehm also pleaded guilty Friday to involuntary manslaughter. They will recommend she receive up to two years in prison.
The girl's father, Geoffrey Bussard, faces up to five years of probation.
Authorities say the parents' continued drug use and other issues supported criminal charges.
Izabella Bussard ended up in the pool at her family's Manaheim home in April 2017.
Her teenage sister usually watched her, but that day she asked her mother to do that. Rehm agreed, but both parents were asleep when the girl wandered into the pool.
Izabella was in the pool for more than an hour before her sister went in and tried to save her.