A mum who left her baby alone to drown in a bath while she made phone calls and sent WhatsApp messages is facing jail after being convicted of manslaughter.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she left her her infant boy unattended in the bathtub for five minutes while she looked after another child.
A court heard how she assumed the child, who was aged under six-months-old, would be safe in his bath seat - but tragically he slipped out and drowned.
She told police during interview she had not been on her mobile phone because it was charging in another room.
However, phone records showed she had been on a 17-minute call and sent a WhatsApp message shortly before she discovered the boy and called 999.
She maintained that she was only away from her child for five minutes but was convicted of unlawful killing by gross negligence on Friday.
The woman will be sentenced at Northampton Crown Court next month.
Giving evidence during the trial, the mum told the court the phone call would not have been enough to distract her and she often multi-tasked with her phone.
She maintained that she was only away from her child for five minutes and believed the child should not have been able to wriggle out the seat.
The court heard how the bath seat used by the mother came with warning labels never to leave children unattended in one.
Her defence barrister told the court that the label was difficult to read but the jury ruled she should not have stepped away at all and found her guilty.
Detective Sergeant Kerry Chavush, from Northamptonshire Police's Child Protection Team, said: "This was an exceptionally tragic case to investigate because at the heart of it lies a much-loved young baby who lost his life in entirely preventable circumstances.
"Expert evidence was provided during the trial that stated a bath seat should never be considered as a safety device and is never a substitute for adult supervision.
"The World Health Organisation also do not recommend leaving a child under five-years-old alone in the bath.
"There are no winners in this case and it is so sad that a baby boy who had his whole life ahead of him has been taken away from this world in such a heart-breaking and dreadful way."
