Mom Arrested After Children Drowned Bonds Out Of Jail

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IRVING (CBSDFW.COM) -A grieving mother of three drowned children bonded out of the Irving jail Saturday.

Patricia Allen is charged with injury to a child. A court document says Allen was found staring at the apartment swimming pool where her children, who police say couldn't swim, had disappeared underwater. Her husband disputes that and friends say an innocent, heartbroken woman is behind bars.

"Patricia Allen is far from a criminal," said Anthony Bond, a family spokesman. "She is a loving, caring, and one of the sweetest people I've met for the first time. And she's a grieving mother."

But, late Friday afternoon Irving police arrested Patricia Allen, 30, for a single count of injury to a child. Court documents state a witness said Allen was apparently distracted by a cell phone and not watching her three children in the pool. Two other witnesses claim when they arrived at the pool the three children were missing and Allen was doing nothing.

"(They) walked up to the pool and saw the mother sitting on the edge of the pool looking outward toward the deeper end of the pool and also observed that the water was still and calm, that there was no flapping or splashing or bubbles in the water," Irving Police Spokesman James McLellan said. "It was at that point that the mother stepped out."

"Everybody's saying that she's an irresponsible mother, squash that!" Bond said emphatically. "It's not true!"

Patricia Allen's husband was too distraught to go on camera, but tells us the children could swim well enough to be in the water.

Child Protective Services took the surviving children, a six and a three year old, into custody.

The family spokesman says all this happened just as several churches and neighbors had begun donating toys to the family, offering help and even adopting the family and moving them into a house in an attempt to give the family a fresh start.

"This is inhumane what CPS has done," Bond said.

Bond said churches will reach out to Allen while in jail and post her $50,000 bond on Monday.