The Platte County Prosecutor’s Office will seek the death penalty for the mother accused of drowning her son before attempting to jump off a bridge to commit suicide.
Aushena Warren
Aushena Warren, 32, is charged with first-degree murder and abandonment of a corpse in the 2017 case. Warren remains in custody in the Platte County Detention Center on $500,000 cash-only bond.
Last week, assistant prosecuting attorney Mark Gibson gave notice the state will seek the death penalty. The case is set for a two-week jury trial before judge James Van Amburg starting Sept. 21, 2020.
This is the second case in recent years in which the prosecutor will seek the death penalty. The other is Grayden Denham.
Warren was charged with murder after a grand jury indictment in the death of her eight-year-old son, Audrick Warren. The previous charge of abandonment of a corpse was filed because Warren didn’t call 911 or report the drowning.
According to court documents, another resident of the home went to work the morning of June 13, 2017, leaving Warren, the victim and another, younger child in the house. At about 11:30 a.m., the resident received a FaceTime call from the other child, stating Warren had left the house. The resident returned home and found the victim deceased in the bathtub. The resident moved the child out of the water and into a nearby bedroom, calling for assistance.
He found a note from Warren explaining that the family’s financial struggles were her fault and how she feared the children would be taken by the state and given up for adoption.
When she left the house, Warren traveled to the Kit Bond Bridge, where she jumped in a suicide attempt. Warren survived the fall because authorities were in the area conducting training at the time and were able to rescue her.
According to court documents, Warren said after her rescue, but before the boy was found dead, that she is bi-polar and had not been taking her medication. She told authorities the children “were at home,” but when asked if the victim had been left in charge, she became emotional and ended the interview.
In an interview with the second child, he stated that he heard “a head bump” three times that morning. He also said Warren gave him and his brother “pink medicine” that morning, and that she was running water in the bathroom for a long time.
After leaving his room, the boy found his older brother “asleep” under the water with a red face and purple hands. He said his mother left the house looking sad without telling him where she was going. The boy used the cell phone she left behind to call for help.
According to court documents, an autopsy revealed a contusion on the back of the victim’s skull. The cause of death was determined to be drowning.