7-year-old boy recovering after alleged drowning attempt by parents
By Maki Becker
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BUFFALO, New York (WKBW) — A 7-year-old Buffalo boy is recovering in foster care after authorities say his mother and stepfather repeatedly tried to drown him in ice-cold water and starved him for over two months.
Jacklyn Balabis and Parris Woods were arrested on January 30 on charges related to the alleged abuse of the boy, which prosecutors say began in October. A third defendant, Cassandra Baughman, is accused of participating in the attempted drowning.
The case came to light on December 11 when emergency responders were called to an address on Parkdale Avenue on Buffalo’s West Side after the child was found unconscious in a bathtub.
“Seven year old male was not responding. He’s awake and breathing,” dispatch audio obtained through Broadcastify revealed.
Minutes later, dispatchers reported conflicting information about the boy’s condition as crews worked to revive him.
The child spent eight days in the hospital and made what Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane called “a remarkable recovery.”
“We expected this little boy to not survive for the first few days,” Keane said.
Three other younger children who lived in the home are now in foster care.
Ring camera footage from neighbors captured emergency vehicle lights as first responders worked at the scene. An additional video showed Buffalo police surrounding the building during the January 30 arrests.
Police records show multiple calls to the Parkdale address, including reports of screaming in November, along with domestic trouble, assault and ambulance calls.
One neighbor described hearing angry yelling from the residence.
“It was…somebody was angry,” the woman said. “Breaks my heart. It’s scary because I think of my son and I just, I don’t know. It’s a thought process that we can’t understand how somebody could do that to their own child.”
Roemello White from Child and Family Services joined Voices to discuss CFS’s role in helping the community, families, victims and survivors in the context of an abuse case.
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