What was supposed to be a fun Memorial Day weekend getaway turned into a frightening experience for a 7-year-old boy and his family after the child was kicked into a hotel pool by a 63-year-old woman.
Authorities responded to the Comfort Inn in Sedalia, Missouri, at around 8:20 p.m. on May 23 and identified the woman as Penny Badgett. She claimed her actions were driven by witnessing the child — who was later confirmed to be unable to swim — bullying another child near the pool.
Highlights
- 63-year-old Penny Badgett was arrested after surveillance footage showed her kicking a 7-year-old boy into a hotel swimming pool.
- She claimed she kicked the child because he was bullying another child, though investigators did not address the allegation.
- The incident sparked strong reactions online, with many netizens sharing what they would have done if the child were their own.
The incident, which was captured on surveillance footage and released by police as part of their investigation, has sparked outrage online, with many netizens labeling Badgett a “Karen.”
Chilling footage shows a woman kicking a 7-year-old into a hotel pool
Image credits: Sedalia Police Department
According to court records seen by Law & Crime, a multiplatform network dedicated to true crime content, the pool that the boy was thrown into was five and a half feet deep.
The average height of a 7-year-old boy is about 4 feet, meaning the pool's additional 1½ feet of depth could have posed a significant risk to his safety.
Image credits: Steward Masweneng/Pexels (Not the actual image)
According to the documents, the boy's aunt confronted the woman after witnessing the incident. During the confrontation, Badgett claimed she acted because the child was being “mean to another child.”
Authorities noted that Badgett had no relationship to the boy and had never interacted with him before the encounter.
They reviewed surveillance footage from inside the pool area and said the video painted a troubling picture of what occurred.
“After reviewing camera footage, there is clear video of Badgett standing behind the boy. She waited for him to sit down and then used her foot to push him into the pool,” the probable cause affidavit stated.
The boy “expressed he was scared” after being pushed into the water when speaking with authorities.
Image credits: fitchikrn/TikTok
Police used the hotel’s electronic door-lock registry and surveillance footage to locate Badgett inside the hotel.
Badgett initially refused to speak and demanded a lawyer, but later made an incriminating statement, according to officers.
“After informing her that she was under arrest and telling her that I had video of her kicking someone into the pool, she stated, ‘I know what this is about, I pushed him,’” the affidavit noted.
Image credits: fitchikrn/TikTok
Badgett was subsequently taken into custody and booked into the Pettis County Jail.
She was charged with mistreatment of a child and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child by creating a substantial risk.
She is scheduled for a hearing on Thursday, July 9, at the Pettis County Courthouse.
Netizens have called for harsher charges against Badgett while sharing how they would have responded if the victim were their child
Image credits: Freepik (Not the actual image)
“That’s attempted m**der,” one said, while another demanded, “Life without parole” for Badgett.
“If the child were mine, y’all would have been reading her obituary,” a third noted.
“If the child were mine, that old bitty would be fighting for her life in the same pool,” echoed a fourth.
“I’m about to be 70. If this were one of my grandkids, I would jump in to save them, but on my way down, I would pull her in with me. How dare she do this?” a fifth said.
Image credits: fitchikrn/TikTok
Some, however, sided with Badgett, with one arguing she was only a “bully to another bully.”
“Everyone is talking about how bad she was, but nobody is talking about what the boy did,” they added.
“The kid learned the lesson that his parents should have taught,” a separate user said.
Investigators did not address Badgett’s claim that the child was bullying another child.
Commentators also took aim at the child’s parents for letting him near the pool despite him not knowing how to swim
Image credits: SHOX ART/Pexels (Not the actual image)
The surveillance footage of the incident shows the child without a life vest or other safety equipment by the poolside.
“If the kid can’t swim, where are the arm bands, and where are the parents if the pool is that deep?” one user asked.
“Why was no one watching the child when this happened?” probed a second, while a third noted, “I wouldn’t let my child be by the pool alone if he couldn’t swim.”
“Parents these days are too busy socializing or staying on their phones. This should serve as a warning,” a fourth schooled.
“His parents also need to go to jail,” voiced a fifth.
"This is crazy," a netizen said about the incident
