Police: NJ mom falls asleep with baby in tub, baby drowns

DEPTFORD TWP., N.J. (WPVI) -- A man and woman were charged after their infant drowned in a bathtub in Deptford Township, Gloucester County.

Maurice Brown, 27, and Shannon Schonewolf, 33, were charged Friday with endangering the welfare of a child after their six-week-old son drowned in a bathtub.

It happened on June 8th at their home in the Inverness Apartments.

The Gloucester County prosecutor's office said police were called to the apartment at 11:41 a.m. for a report of a child in cardiac arrest.

Investigators say Schonewolf fell asleep in the bathtub for several hours with her child on top of her.

When she woke up, police say the baby was unconscious. The boy later died at the hospital.

An autopsy determined the baby drowned.

Brown and Schonewolf are being held on $100,000 each.

The prosecutor's office said Brown was charged because he was also legally responsible for the child.