Sobbing mother charged after 2-year-old son chokes to death on popcorn

A New York mother has been charged with manslaughter after her 18-month-old toddler died by choking on popcorn while she was drunk in the bathroom. 

Olivia Bithorn, 36, sobbed in court on Monday as she pleaded not guilty to causing the death of her son, Luke Russell Jr., on the night of April 12. 

The horror unfolded when Bithorn and her two children were staying at an Airbnb in Nassau County, Long Island, according to an indictment seen by the Daily Mail. 

Prosecutors allege that Bithorn left Luke and his sister Ruby Russell, three,  unattended in the property as she drank heavily before getting sick in the bathroom. 

At some point during the evening, she gave the children uncooked popcorn kernels, and one of the kernels became lodged in her son’s throat. 

‘Allegedly, she was in the bathroom, possibly getting sick because she had drank so much,’ Nassau DA Anne Donnelly said after the hearing, according to Newsday. 

‘She allegedly was intoxicated, gave the children a bag of unpopped popcorn and her son was eating the kernels, and they got stuck and he died.’ 

Parents are frequently warned not to feed their children popcorn because it presents a high risk of choking due to its shape and texture.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) warns that popcorn belongs on the do-not-eat list for toddlers without exception.

Along with food including raw carrots, whole grapes, hard candies, and marshmallows, popcorn has ‘the same high-risk physical characteristics that create effective plugs for the pediatric airway,’ the AAP website states. 

Bithorn told police she would not have fed her son popcorn because she was aware of the risks, according to Law and Crime, adding that the kernels must have spilled on to the floor after she made some for her older child to eat while watching a movie.

However, shocking photographs from the Airbnb appear to cast doubt over that narrative, showing popcorn scattered close to an empty Tito’s bottle of vodka. 

One image from the basement property on Stuyvesant Avenue in Merrick shows the bottle on the carpet with a child’s dummy close by. 

Prosecutors claim Bithorn left the children alone for more than an hour, until her daughter rushed to tell her that Luke was choking, according to News12. 

‘Her son was blue and cold to the touch,’ Donnelly said. ‘They estimate, allegedly, he was dead for over an hour before 911 was called.’ 

Bithorn was so intoxicated she could barely stand by the time emergency responders arrived at the scene in the early hours of April 13, according to detectives. 

Donnelly said the mother has been criminally charged because the alleged negligence caused her son’s death.  

‘It’s an accident if you leave the room for a few minutes,’ Donnelly said. 

‘But it’s criminal if you actually give your child these kernels to eat and not be present in case something happens, which is exactly happened here, your non-presence, non-care elevates it to a crime.’ 

Prosecutors said Bithorn has struggled with alcoholism in the past. 

She is separated from her husband, and he believed she had been sober for months when she took their children for the overnight trip. 

Bithorn has been charged with one count of manslaughter in the second degree, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, according to the document. 

She was arrested and arraigned on June 18. On Monday, Judge Tammy Robbins set her bail at $500,000, with a restraining order barring her from seeing her daughter and estranged husband.

Bithorn will next appear in court on July 23.