Defense: Child's drowning death 'tragic accident,' not crime

PLUM, Pa. (AP) — The attorney representing a western Pennsylvania man charged with involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment in the drowning death of his 3-year-old daughter calls the case "a horrible, tragic accident."

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that defense attorney Casey White says 27-year-old Charles Mitchell "was not reckless nor grossly negligent," and the case is an accident rather than a crime.

Authorities say Mitchell told officers he returned to the backyard of his Plum home Aug. 1 to find Ca-Nayah Mitchell submerged in the deep end of the pool.

Police say he originally said he left the girl and his 4-year-old son briefly to fix a ginger ale mixed with an apple-flavored alcohol but later said it was only ginger ale. White said his client wasn't under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

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Information from: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, http://www.post-gazette.com