Mother who jumped from Bond Bridge charged with murder in 8-year-old son’s drowning

Platte County grand jury has indicted a 30-year-old Kansas City woman in her son’s drowning death inside of her Northland home last June.

Aushena Warren faces first-degree murder charges in the death of her 8-year-old son, Audrick Warren, who was found June 13 lying unresponsive in a bathtub full of water at the residence in the 5800 block of North London Avenue. Paramedics declared the boy dead.

Warren was charged in June with abandoning the boy’s body.

The indictment alleges Warren caused Audrick’s death by drowning him, Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said in a statement.

Warren sustained non life-threatening injuries after fire crews pulled her from the Missouri River on June 13. Her son, Audrick, was found several hours later.

An autopsy report concluded that Audrick had a bruise on the top of his skull and that he died from drowning. Prosecutors said Warren did not call 911, try to contact authorities or seek medical help after Audrick apparently drowned.

According to a court document file in support of the charge:

A witness said he had left for work earlier that morning, leaving two children with Warren. The witness later received a FaceTime call from one of the children, saying he could not find Warren. The witness returned home to find Audrick wearing underwear and Spider-Man socks lying in the bathtub filled with water.

He pulled Audrick out of the tub, placed him in a bedroom and called 911.

The man said he found a note, apparently written by Warren, that reportedly said the family’s financial pressures were her fault and she did not think they made enough money. She feared authorities would remove the children and place them up for adoption, due to the family’s financial situation, the court document states.

A second witness told investigators that he had heardu “a head bump” three times, making a sound that he likened to a basketball bouncing off a person’s head.

Authorities learned Warren had jumped from the Bond Bridge in an apparent suicide attempt.

Before learning about Audrick’s death, investigators asked Warren why she jumped. Warren allegedly told detectives she suffers from bipolar disorder and had not been taking her medication. She began to cry when detectives asked her who was watching the boys.

Warren is being held in the Platte County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond.

This story was originally published January 30, 2018 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Mother who jumped from Bond Bridge charged with murder in 8-year-old son’s drowning."