Sandy Springs mom found not guilty in toddler's drowning by reason of insanity
Asia Calabrese-Lewis
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. - A Sandy Springs mother accused of murdering her 1-year-old daughter has been found not guilty of the death by reason of insanity.
Court records show that a Fulton County judge dropped all charges against Asia Calabrese-Lewis last week.
The backstory:
In May 2023, police in Sandy Springs responded to a 911 call reporting a disturbance near the King and Queen Towers off Concourse Parkway.
When they arrived, officers located Calabrese-Lewis in the parking deck of 2 Concourse Parkway. Police say she was having some type of episode. When the child's father arrived, he asked where the baby was. At that time, Calabrese-Lewis reportedly stated that the baby was dead in a pool.
Mom accused of drowning girl heads to court
Security footage showed the Georgia mom walking her toddler toward the pond and then calmly heading back into frame without her little girl and with no clothes on, warrants say.
"They live in the area. The father showed up … found her there with us and asked where the child was. She responded with something like, ‘She’s in the bottom of the pool.’ We don’t think it's an accidental at this time," Sandy Springs Police Sgt. Matt McGinnis told FOX 5 Atlanta at the time.
Despite attempts to save the toddler, she died at a local hospital.
Dig deeper:
An arrest warrant indicates security cameras captured Calabrese-Lewis walking 22-month-old Nirvana Oliver towards the pond. The family lives diagonally across the street at The Bishop Apartments.
The arrest warrant states that after Calabrese-Lewis walked Oliver into the pond, they were off camera for 6 minutes. Then security cameras showed the 24-year-old mother calmly walking back into the frame with no clothes on.
Authorities charged the mother with two counts of murder and one count of first-degree cruelty to children.
What we know:
Months after her arrest, Calabrese-Lewis's attorneys filed a notice of intent saying that she planned to plead not guilty by reason of "insanity, mental illness, or intellectual disabilty."
On April 18, a Fulton County judge agreed with the attorney's arguments, finding the woman not guilty of all three charges "by reason of insanity."
Further details were not shared.
The Source: Information for this story came from Fulton County court documents and previous FOX 5 reporting.