GUILTY CA - Elijah Rivas, 21 mos, drowned in bathtub, Oceanside, 12 Sept 2014

Veronica Rivas, 28, confessed Friday to drowning her 22-month-old son inside a residence in the 300 block of Woodpark Way on Wednesday, Oceanside police Lt. Leonard Cosby said.

Police were dispatched to the residence about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday and attempted to resuscitate the child, who was ultimately declared dead at the scene.

Rivas was found in a downstairs room unconscious and unresponsive and was taken to Tri-City Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, Cosby said.

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Police say the mother of a toddler found dead in an Oceanside home has admitted to drowning her child after suffering depression over a custody battle...

A nanny for Elijah told NBC 7 Rivas has been in a custody battle with the boy's father, a Marine, for the past two months.

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Grasso said that Rivas filled the tub and called her son into the bathroom.
“She herself says that she put him in the water face down and held him there,” Grasso said.
According to the prosecutor, when Rivas thought the boy was dead, she took him out of the tub. However, he came to and started crying, coughing and vomiting.
“She made the decision to put him back in the tub,” Grasso said.

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New details emerged during the arraignment for Veronica Rivas, a hearing delayed twice because the jailed 28-year-old has been on suicide watch.

According to the prosecutor, Rivas was driving to pick up her son from his babysitter’s home when she decided to kill him. In her confession to detectives, Rivas reportedly said “I had to put him down.”...

Grasso said that after Rivas succeeded in drowning the child, she ingested Tylenol and alcohol.

According to authorities, Rivas’ mother came home, found the pair and called 911 at 7:45. Elijah died at the home. Rivas, who was unconscious and unresponsive, was taken to a hospital, treated and then arrested Friday...

Grasso also told the judge that Rivas has a 2009 felony cocaine-related conviction in Las Vegas.

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Mom Says She Drowned Boy to Save Him From Pedophiliac Dad

“I killed my baby,” Veronica Rivas is heard saying. “Why? Because the law does not protect unless you have evidence. What am I supposed to do? Watch him the rest of my life?”

Prosecutors played the recording Monday during Rivas’ preliminary hearing. A judge decided she should be bound over for trial, accused of first-degree murder and assault on a child causing death in the drowning of her son, Elijah.
Elijah's father, a Marine, has not spoken publicly about the case. It's unclear if Rivas' allegations are being investigated.

Police said Rivas was suffering from depression over a custody battle with her son’s father. Riva's mother, Maria, testified that her daugther was stressed about the recent mail delivery of custody papers from the baby's father....

Detective Marilyn Johnson also took the stand to describe the way Elijah died. She said Rivas tried to drown her son in the bathtub two times, but he kept surviving. Rivas took a break before the third and final attempt.
“After laying on a bed for a short time, they went back into the bathroom, and this time, she said she got into the water and laid Elijah on her chest,” said Johnson.

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