Amie Jo Farber

Introduction

Amie Jo Farber is a 41-year-old woman from Evansville, Indiana, who was arrested and charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death — a Level 1 felony under Indiana law — after her 3-year-old son drowned in a backyard swimming pool on Saturday, September 19, 2026, while she was, according to police and witness accounts, passed out in a patio chair after drinking roughly five 25-ounce beers. The case drew national attention after witnesses’ frantic 911 calls were released, in which a witness can be heard shouting “she’s passed out drunk!” Farber, who according to court records has accumulated drug- and alcohol-related arrests going back to 2004, remains in the Vanderburgh County Jail on a $25,000 cash bond pending an initial hearing.

Background Information

Farber lives in Evansville, Indiana, and public records of her life before the drowning are thin; local reporting has focused on her long history with law enforcement. According to Evansville Courier & Press archives cited in The Gleaner, she gave birth to a boy in June 2023; the 3-year-old who died has not been publicly named, and authorities have not confirmed whether he is that child. Court records reviewed by The Gleaner show arrests stretching back to 2004, ranging from possession to theft to driving while intoxicated, and in 2024 she pleaded guilty to multiple low-level felony counts, including neglect of a dependent, battery against a public safety official, and domestic battery committed in the presence of a child. In that 2024 case, a family member with custody of her child told police Farber had been “tearing up the house” while intoxicated; Magistrate Judge Ryan Reed sentenced her to probation, which was revoked multiple times, leading to stints in the Vanderburgh County Jail and the Indiana Department of Correction.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Allegations, not convictions. The charge against Amie Jo Farber — neglect of a dependent resulting in death — was filed by prosecutors and remains unproven; she is presumed innocent unless and until convicted in court. The account below is drawn from a probable cause affidavit and police statements as reported by local and national outlets. Farber has not publicly contested the account through a statement, and no defense statement is on record in the coverage cited.

The drowning occurred on the afternoon of Saturday, September 19, 2026, at a home in the 1200 block of North Second Avenue in Evansville. According to the probable cause affidavit, Farber — described by the homeowner as a “family friend” whom he knew to have a drinking problem — arrived with the boy around 2:30 p.m. and asked if they could swim; the resident agreed but told her she needed to be sure to watch the child. The two sat outside while the boy played in an inflatable pool float, and the resident went inside for what he estimated was about ten minutes. When he came back out, he told police, he found Farber “passed out” in a patio chair, could no longer see the child in the float, and began yelling at her to wake up — she didn’t. Approaching the pool, he observed the float overturned and the boy floating face down in the water; he pulled him out and attempted CPR while a friend called 911.

The 911 recordings, obtained and released by 14 News, captured the chaos: a caller reported “the little boy was in the pool now he’s not breathing,” witnesses repeatedly shouted Farber’s name to rouse her, and a woman’s voice shouted “She’s passed out drunk!” followed by “the mom’s passed out.” The homeowner later told officers that during her time in the backyard she drank about five 25-ounce beers — Bud Ice tallboys, by his account, equivalent to around ten standard beers. When the first officer arrived, the affidavit states, the child’s body lay on the ground by the pool “with nobody around it,” while Farber stood by the trash cans, appearing — in the officer’s words per the affidavit — to be throwing away empty beer cans; police said she showed signs of impairment. At the hospital, where the boy was pronounced dead despite lifesaving efforts, Farber allegedly told investigators she had gotten into the pool with him briefly, then laid out and “must have fallen asleep” without knowing for how long, and said “This is all my fault,” without elaborating. Police obtained a warrant to test her blood for drugs and alcohol at Deaconess Midtown; the affidavit does not include the results.

Public Reaction and Consequences

Farber was booked into the Vanderburgh County Jail on Saturday night, September 19, on a preliminary charge of neglect of a dependent resulting in death — a Level 1 felony under Indiana law — and is being held on a $25,000 cash bond. The case drew national coverage after the New York Post and other outlets highlighted the drinking accounts and the released 911 audio. Evansville Police Sgt. Anthony Aussieker told 14 News the homeowner “was outside for a majority of the time, but had gone inside to take care of some things,” and confirmed that no charges are contemplated against him. The released audio and affidavit details drew broad attention online, and the drowning renewed local discussion of child-welfare oversight given her documented history — the 2024 neglect plea involving a child in a family member’s custody, and repeated probation revocations.

Current Status

Farber remains in the Vanderburgh County Jail on $25,000 bond, and her initial hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, September 23, 2026. The charge is preliminary, and the blood-test results sought by police have not been disclosed in the public record. No trial date exists yet, and no defense attorney’s statements appear in the coverage cited as of September 22, 2026.

Impact on Their Career/Life

For Farber, the Level 1 felony charge — on top of the felony record she already carried from the 2024 plea — carries potential prison time under Indiana law if she is convicted, and she will almost certainly remain in custody at least through her initial hearing given the cash bond. Her name and booking photo have become the public face of the case across national media, and the released 911 audio ensures its details will follow her permanently in the public record. For Evansville, the case has landed as the latest instance in which a child’s death raised questions about how a caregiver with a documented history of alcohol-related incidents came to be supervising a toddler near water.

Sources

The New York Post, “Indiana mom was ‘passed out drunk’ as 3-year-old son drowned in pool after she pounded 5 tallboys: cops,” September 22, 2026 — source
14 News (WFIE), “Evansville woman charged after 3-year-old drowns in pool,” September 20, 2026 — source
14 News (WFIE), “‘She’s passed out drunk’: 911 calls capture moments after child drowns in Evansville pool,” September 21, 2026 — source
The Gleaner (Evansville Courier & Press), “Evansville mom accused in child’s death has history of alcohol arrests,” September 21, 2026 — source
WBIW, “Evansville mother charged with neglect after 3-year-old son drowns in backyard pool,” September 21, 2026 — source
@nypost on X, “Indiana mom was ‘passed out drunk’ as 3-year-old son drowned in pool after she pounded 5 tallboys: cops,” September 22, 2026 — source