Police: Son stopped mom from drowning 2 children

Associated Press

Friday, May 23, 2014 | 5:32 p.m.

DALLAS — A Dallas woman who tried to drown her two young daughters after the girls pleaded for snacks was stopped by her 18-year-old son, who grabbed his drenched sisters and carried them from the apartment, police say.

Sonya Ann Gardner, 35, is jailed on a $1 million bond on two counts of attempted capital murder of a child, according to police records. No attorney has been listed for her.

Neighbors told officers that her son, Jydesmon Gardner, was walking by the apartment Thursday night when he heard screams. A police affidavit says Gardner forced his way into the apartment, where he found his mother trying to drown his two sisters in a bathtub. Police say witnesses told them the son fired a warning gunshot, grabbed his dripping 4-year-old sister and carried her from the apartment.

When he went back to get his 6-year-old sister, the front door was locked, so he kicked it in, witnesses told police. He then grabbed the other girl and ran from the apartment.

Gardner told police that she had smoked marijuana laced with PCP earlier in the evening, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

"We were fixing to die," the 6-year-old told officers according to the affidavit, adding that her mother tried to "drown us in the bath."

Both young children stayed with neighbors until police arrived and were placed in the custody of Child Protective Services.

Jydesmon Gardner left the scene before officers arrived because of an outstanding parole violation warrant in an unrelated case, police said.

"It appears that his actions may have saved the lives of these two children," police Maj. Rob Sherwin told reporters and appealed for him to turn himself in for questioning as a witness.