Welcome to Arrest Stories. A forty-year-old Alabama mother faces manslaughter and aggravated child abuse charges after her two-year-old son was fatally shot in the head at their Blount County home. Here's what may have happened.
On Wednesday, January seventh, deputies responded to a home on Orchard Circle in Hayden around ten in the morning. They found two-year-old Noah suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. First responders attempted lifesaving measures before Noah was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to investigators, Evelyn Leyva Etress had left her four-year-old twin daughters and two-year-old Noah alone in the master bedroom while she went to the kitchen to make tea. There were six children total in the home at the time: twin four-year-old girls, an eight-year-old girl, a nine-year-old girl, and a thirteen-year-old boy. The children were reportedly homeschooled.
Etress heard a loud noise that may have been a gunshot coming from the bedroom. When she returned to the bedroom, the twins were running from the closet. The handgun was lying on the floor and Noah was bleeding from his face. Etress allegedly told investigators she had left a handgun on a dresser the night before. The shooting is believed to be accidental.
Investigators recovered multiple firearms inside the home. According to public records filed with the sheriff's office, there were at least four, if not five firearms that were loaded in that home where the children had easy access.
On Friday, January ninth, Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey announced that Evelyn Leyva Etress was charged with reckless manslaughter and aggravated child abuse. Her bond was set at ninety thousand dollars.
Casey stated, "When a gun is left out, a child doesn't see danger, they see something familiar. And that misunderstanding can turn into tragedy in seconds." She added, "This is a straight up tragedy. These actions forever changed a family, changed the children, and we see the loss of a precious soul that shouldn't have happened."
All suspects presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Do not take this report as factual, always verify facts. Thanks for watching Arrest Stories.