A drug-addicted Long Island mom allegedly fed her 18-month old son unpopped popcorn kernels in a drunken stupor — then left him and his sister alone to drink in the bathroom while he choked to death.
Olivia Bithorn, 36, was busted after Nassau County cops were called to her Merrick home, where they found Bithron’s son, Luke Russell Jr., laying on the ground surrounded by popcorn kernels and turning blue — just steps away from an empty bottle of Tito’s vodka in the bathroom, prosecutors said.
The self-admitted drug addict and alcoholic mother allegedly left her son unattended with his 3-year-old sister from April 12 into the next day, and fed them both raw uncooked popcorn kernels, which her son eventually choked on and died as Bithron was downing booze in the bathroom, according to prosecutors.
“When the police walked in that nightmare of a scene on April 12, 2026 — besides seeing 18 month old Luke Russell, Jr. laying in front of them, unresponsive, already turning blue from asphyxiation, surrounded by dozens of unpopped popcorn kernels, which would ultimately and unsurprisingly be the cause of his death when one became lodged in his throat,” prosecutors detailed.
“[Police] also found a nearly empty bottle of Tito’s vodka in the bathroom, where the defendant had been drinking it while her children remained unsupervised in the living room,” prosecutors added.
Bithorn was held on half a million dollars bail on Monday after originally being confined to a drug and alcohol treatment facility with an ankle monitor last week, when she pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and child endangerment charges for the death of her son.