LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — A Pennsylvania woman accused in connection with the death of her 5-year-old son tried to persuade her other children to lie about where she was when the boy drowned in the Susquehanna River, according to court documents.
Autumn Lynn Vossler, 29, was arrested on Dec. 29 and charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter and four counts of felony endangering the welfare of children, according to a news release from the Susquehanna Regional Police Department.
The charges were filed in connection with the Aug. 29, 2021, drowning death of Vossler’s son, Romin Harmon, in Bainbridge, the Patriot-News reported.
The boy’s death came the day before he was to start kindergarten at Bainbridge Elementary School, according to his obituary.
According to Chief Deputy Coroner Eric Bieber, Harmon’s body was found after a five-hour search, the Patriot-News reported. Bieber originally classified the drowning as accidental.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Vossler originally told Susquehanna Regional police that she was walking along the river in Conroy Township with her four children when they ran ahead of her. When she caught up to her children, Vossler said she realized that Harmon had fallen into the river, according to the Patriot-News.
However, police body camera footage showed that one of Vossler’s surviving children allegedly said, “Stop lying, mommy. We never saw you, we snuck out of the house,” according to the probable cause affidavit.
In interviews, Vossler’s children told police that she told them to say she was with them when her son drowned so she would not be arrested, the Patriot-News reported.
According to online court records, Vossler is being held at the Lancaster County Prison. She has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 18.