Pregnant Tennessee Mother Asks For Money on Facebook After Scalding 14-Month-Old Toddler to Death

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A pregnant mother from Tennessee has allegedly killed her 14-month-old toddler in the bath with scalding hot water. After the horrific incident, the suspect posted pictures and funeral video on social media platforms to ask the public for financial donation.

Negligent Homicide

Authorities have accused 27-year-old Laureen McArthur of killing her son Dominique inside their residence on November 10. Union City police officers started an investigation on December 2 after a child was taken to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital due to severe burns on his body.

Police said that four days after being admitted into the hospital, the toddler lost his life due to his injuries.

Investigators determined that McArthur scalded the young boy with hot bath water that affected nearly half of his entire body.

Photo: Laureen McArthur (Obion County Sheriff’s OfficeOfficials arrested the mother on December 2 with charges of negligent homicide and child abuse after she had posted pictures and a video of the funeral and begged for financial assistance on social media.The pregnant 27-year-old wore a tattoo across her chest that read, “family over everything,” and posted a link that led to her Cashapp account. In her post, she gave her account name and said that she would not yet be revealing any information about the incident on Facebook.

McArthur announced Dominique’s death on November 14 and said, “We love you, baby boy,” and said the injuries were brought on by accident.

The suspect also set up a GoFundMe page that she shared online with the name “China Smith” that aimed to raise enough money to pay for her child’s funeral costs and help support her family, according to Media Entertainment Arts Worldwide.

A Loving Pregnant Mother

Before authorities arrested the pregnant mother, McArthur shared several edited pictures of her late son being depicted as an angel.

She also held a balloon release for Dominique and shared photos of the event on social media. The suspect also posted images taken from the funeral of her son, including pallbearers carrying Dominique’s coffin to his grave.

McArthur uploaded several photographs of Dominique in May with captions that said, “Looking just like his daddy, and I hate it.”

Investigators in charge of the chase have yet to release further information regarding the crime and the details of the young boy’s death.

Additionally, Dominique’s unfortunate demise came only two weeks after McArthur shared that she was pregnant with another child.

Authorities have recently placed the pregnant mother in Obion County Jail, where she is waiting for her next court hearing, according to Metro.