Collier County Woman Sentenced to 10 Years After Infant Drowning

A haunting tragedy in Collier County has come to a legal close. A woman has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading no contest to aggravated manslaughter following the drowning death of her infant.

Court records reveal that in June 2023 the mother, later identified as Nicole Marie Laber, left her child strapped into a booster seat inside a bathtub and walked away, leaving the infant alone. The booster seat tipped over and trapped the child beneath shallow water, leading to fatal drowning.

When first questioned, Laber told deputies she had briefly left the house to retrieve a dog and another child. Upon her return, she claimed she found her infant face-down near a dog’s water bowl. But investigators say that narrative unraveled under forensic scrutiny.

Detectives contend that Laber attempted to cover her tracks. They say she cleaned the scene and re-dressed the infant in a diaper in an effort to make the incident appear accidental.

At sentencing, the court credited Laber with two years of time already served, reducing her remaining term to eight years behind bars. Upon her release, she will spend another ten years on probation.

The case lays bare the gravity of caregiver responsibility and the irreversible consequences of momentary lapses. It also demonstrates how thorough investigative work—autopsy findings, forensic reconstructions, timeline analysis—can expose discrepancies in statements and hold individuals accountable.

Beyond the courtroom, this case underscores a broader public safety issue: infant drowning remains a preventable tragedy when supervision lapses. While the facts here are deeply distressing, they reinforce why authorities and child safety experts emphasize never leaving infants unattended near water—even for a minute.

As the community absorbs the verdict, questions will linger about preventive measures, child safety education, and how similar tragedies might be avoided in the future. The legal chapter may be closed, but the human cost and lessons are far from forgotten.