Mom charged after missing toddler drowns on front porch of home

ONSLOW COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - A mother has been charged weeks after her toddler drowned on the front porch of their Onslow County home.

Elizabeth Holderness turned herself to deputies this morning. She is charged with felony involuntary manslaughter, felony negligent child abuse with serious bodily injury, and six misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.

Neighbor Nicki King is sad for the child but says he’s in a better place.

“He’s in a better place. It is heartbreaking that this happened, but he’s being taken care of now,” King said.

Deputies say they were called to the 200 block of Old Timber Road on December 11th for a missing 16-month-old boy.

Shortly after deputies arrived, Zayden Hand was found unconscious in a container of water on the front porch.

The toddler later died at Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune.

Warrants say there were six children between one and eight years old in the house at the time. They say Holderness had reckless disregard for human life, “ingesting an illegal substance in a separate room for an extended period of time.”

In court late this morning, the woman asked the judge for a drug test before any bond is set. It came back negative, and the judge set her bond at $75,000 unsecured.

The woman was released from jail this afternoon, and her next court date is January 15th.