Drowned Boy's Mother Hit With Endangerment Charges

2-Year-Old Found In Pool After Church Picnic

POSTED: 2:24 pm EDT July 14, 2008
UPDATED: 5:46 pm EDT July 14, 2008

PERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The foster mother of a boy who drowned after wandering away from a Fayette County church picnic has been charged with reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child.

Donovan Barksdale, 2, had been placed with foster mother Jacalyn Mills at her Belle Vernon home by Auberle, a faith-based Catholic agency.

State police said the boy was temporarily left with other children who were playing together after the June 8 service at First Christian Church off Route 51 in Perry Township, according to state police.

Troopers believe Barksdale made his way down a driveway and walked about 100 yards until he found a pool, then squeezed through some wooden fencing and jumped into the water.

"It's tragic. I'm sure that Jacalyn Mills is extremely upset, but then again, 2-year-olds do have a tendency to wander, but then again, it's up to the adults to watch and protect them," District Attorney Nancy Vernon said when she first recommended charges against Mills last month.

Mills is free while she awaits a preliminary hearing sometime within the next 10 days.

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