Babysitter tried to push 5-year-old from window and drown him, Uniontown police say

A babysitter was arrested last week for allegedly trying to push a 5-year-old child out of a window and then later trying to drown that child in a bathtub.

Uniontown police were called to an apartment complex along Berkeley Street around 4 p.m. on Friday. 

Karen Garcia, who lived in the building, had left her 5-year-old and 11-year-old with 41-year-old Vira Zabudko, who is believed to have also lived in the apartment with Garcia and the boys.

When Garcia came home, she said she saw Zabudko trying to push her 5-year-old out of their third-story window through a screen. A fight ensued, and then Zabudko allegedly tried to drown the 5-year-old in the apartment's bathtub. Garcia was also pushed into the shower area before leaving the apartment with her boys.

"We are still trying to gather some information, including how long Ms. Zabudko has been in the area, how long they have cohabitated," Fayette County District Attorney Michael Aubele said. "I understand Ms. Zabudko is a Ukrainian national. I am not sure if she has American citizenship or what her status is."

Aubele says a disturbing part of this case is that when Zabudko allegedly pushed the 5-year-old into the bathtub, she claimed she was trying to wash away the boy's sins.

"I am not really sure what her religious status is, but I don't know of any religion that would reasonably think that throwing a child or drowning a child was going to wash somebody of sins," Aubele said. "There appears to possibly be a mental health element to this, and of course, we will investigate everything, including the possibility of getting a mental health evaluation."

Aubele says Zabudko is being charged with felony aggravated assault, as well as felony unlawful restraint and recklessly endangering another person.

Zabudko is currently out on bond. She is due back in court on April 9.