Mom who tried to drown infant released from jail
A West Penn Township woman accused of attempting to drown her month-old infant in the bath has been released into her mother's care so she can seek mental health treatment.
But Rachel Minerva Foose, 32, is still barred from seeing her child, according to a judge's order issued in Schuylkill County Court on Friday. She is also still facing attempted murder charges for the Oct. 23 incident, after a judge found sufficient evidence to bind them over for trial at a preliminary hearing Friday.Foose was charged last month after she confessed to relatives and a police officer that she attempted to drown her 1-month-old child in the bathtub.Foose had been behind bars since being arraigned that day.On Friday, a judge heard a request from defense attorney Frederick J. Fanelli to have Foose's bail reduced so that she can seek psychiatric treatment. Judge D. Michael Stine granted the request, with several conditions, and reduced bail from $500,000 to $100,000 unsecured. That means she can be released without posting any cash.However if she fails to meet the conditions set by the judge, or misses a hearing date, she would have to post the $100,000.Under the conditions of her bail, Foose must reside with her mother at her home in Pottsville. She is required to immediately enter into mental health treatment as outlined by a psychiatrist who testified at the hearing. She is not permitted to have contact with her infant, the baby's father, and its paternal grandmother, except when it is requested by the father or grandmother.Foose is also barred from having unsupervised contact with two minor children who reside with her mother. She must continue to take her prescribed medication regimen, and any modifications made as a result of the psychiatric treatment.Despite the fact that she is no longer in custody, Foose is still facing the attempted homicide charges.Magisterial District Judge James Farrier found that there was sufficient evidence for the case to go to trial at a preliminary hearing Friday. During the hearing, the infant's father, paternal grandmother and a police officer all testified that Foose told them that she attempted to drown her child while her husband was out buying formula on the morning of Oct. 23.Assistant District Attorney David Rice said that there was additional evidence that she had attempted to drown the child at the scene.When Foose told her husband what she had done, the child was wearing soaking wet clothing. The amount of water in the bathtub was unusually high, and a "bathing chair" that the couple would normally use during the child's baths was not in the bathroom at the time.