Man pleads guilty in girl's drowning

More than three years after a 4-year-old girl drowned in eight inches of water in a bathtub, a Las Vegas man has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter to end the case.

David Knight originally was charged with first-degree murder but took Thursday's plea bargain and the chance at probation rather than risk being convicted of the original charge that carries a life prison sentence.

But Knight's plea was made under a legal provision that does not require him to admit responsibility for the death of Ariel Robson on March 31, 1995.

Deputy District Attorney Vickie Monroe said that had the case gone to trial, evidence would have showed that Knight was alone with the Robson when she died. The girl had complained to her grandparents the defendant previously had held her head under water as she bathed and there were unexplained bruises on the girl's ears and scalp, the prosecutor continued.

The girl's mother, Misty Knight, was charged with child neglect in the death, but Monroe said that case will be dismissed once David Knight is sentenced on Sept. 4. The defendants were married just weeks after Robson's death and have a new baby.

Police originally believed the girl's death in the bathtub at the 4550 W. Sahara Ave. home to be an accidental drowning but later alleged that David Knight held her head under the water.

Although Misty Knight was not at home when the death occurred, the indictment alleges she permitted her daughter to be with the man while knowing he had abused her in the past.

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