# From 2017: Teenager dies after charging cell phone falls into tub? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 4, 2025, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118 "2025-03-04T17:51:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/1 "2025-03-04T17:51:48Z")
Well, at least that’s what the family said. I remember on “Mythbusters,” they tried various devices, and the most likely to turn you into a hashtag was an iron. Seems like a phone charging cable wouldn’t be carrying a lot of juice, but apparently it does (if that’s what actually got her). [Link](https://abc7ny.com/cell-phone-lubbock-texas-electrocution/2205378/) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/2 "2025-03-04T18:03:52Z")
That is strange. I wouldn’t think that could happen. Even stranger is the comment by the grandma: > “There was a burn mark on her hand, the hand that would have grabbed the phone,” said Donna O’Guinn, the girl’s grandmother. “And that was just very obvious that that’s what had happened.” The last sentence sounds like she’s trying to convince the public “that that’s what had happened.” ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/3 "2025-03-04T18:06:16Z")
If this is electrocution then it’s probably that she was particularly susceptible to electrocution, there is a reason lethal doses are described using probabilities. It’s a bell curve, just because 110v shock from an appliance in a bath tub won’t kill the mean adult, you don’t need to get too far from mean before it will (particularly a child ☹) Also I bet some seriously not to code electrical wiring was involved, sockets in bathrooms should have surge protector that will prevent this from happening ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/4 "2025-03-04T18:09:57Z")
I’m almost positive Electro-boom experimented with this to see how likely it would be. Edit, this should be it, but I’m not in a place where I can watch the video right now: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SHGo-52wCDc/maxresdefault.jpg "Why Charging Phones Take Victims") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHGo-52wCDc) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/5 "2025-03-04T18:12:01Z")
Also, I’ve seen enough electro-boom and BigClive videos to know there’s a non-zero chance that, under the right circumstances, it could deliver the full mains voltage to the user. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/6 "2025-03-04T18:12:33Z")
What may have happened is that she grabbed the charger at the wall plug rather than the phone itself. I would doubt that a charger could generate enough electricity through the wire to kill you no matter what you did. It seems like the charger would burn out or the cord would melt well before enough current passed through for a fatal shock. But if she grabbed the actual charger with wet hands when it’s plugged into the wall, then maybe the wall current was able to pass directly through her. However, I would take anything the parents said with a grain of salt. If the medical examiner said it, then I’d believe that. But if it’s the parents, then they may be making assumptions without really knowing what happened. > [@](#): > > “There was a burn mark on her hand, the hand that would have grabbed the phone,” said Donna O’Guinn, the girl’s grandmother. “And that was just very obvious that that’s what had happened.” ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/7 "2025-03-04T18:17:44Z")
I can think of a couple scenarios: 1. A 120 VAC extension cord was used for the charger. 2. The charger was either very cheap or it failed. In either case, it had inadequate electrical isolation from the mains: the normal-mode voltage would still be 5 VDC (and thus the phone will charge), but the common-mode voltage would be much higher, perhaps approaching 120 VAC (which has a peak of 170 V). ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/8 "2025-03-04T18:19:29Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Also I bet some seriously not to code electrical wiring was involved, sockets in bathrooms should have surge protector that will prevent this from happening Unless it’s an older house. The sockets in my bathrooms didn’t until I remodeled my 1960 era house. > [@filmore](#): > > What may have happened is that she grabbed the charger at the wall plug rather than the phone itself. I would doubt that a charger could generate enough electricity through the wire to kill you no matter what you did. The outlet shouldn’t have been reachable from the tub. I agree that there shouldn’t have been enough amps to kill someone but I’m not an expert. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/9 "2025-03-04T18:54:31Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > The outlet shouldn’t have been reachable from the tub. She used an extension cord. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/10 "2025-03-04T18:56:30Z")
I suspect #2 A lot of aftermarket chargers are (as Click and Clack would say) cheap junk. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/11 "2025-03-04T19:00:28Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > She used an extension cord. Good god. I missed that. 100% her fault. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/12 "2025-03-04T19:31:32Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > A lot of aftermarket chargers are (as Click and Clack would say) cheap junk. Yep. A phone charger is a “Class II” power supply, and the leakage current must be less than 0.25 mA according to IEC 60950-1. A failure or poor design could cause the leakage current to exceed 5 mA, which would be… bad. > [@Joey\_P](#): > > She used an extension cord. That was #1 in my list in my first post. An extension cord should _never_ be used in a bathroom. Regardless, the GFCI receptacle in the bathroom _should_ have de-energized the circuit in a timely fashion (less than 100 ms or so). Am guessing it was faulty or nonexistent. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/13 "2025-03-04T20:02:29Z")
Do we know, because I don’t remember, if it was determined that she actually came in contact with something that was meant to be at mains voltage? That is, did she touch the metal prong of the charger or grab a bare spot on the extension cord or was the charger faulty and delivered mains voltage when it should have been a considerably safer 5vdc? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/14 "2025-03-04T20:05:47Z")
If this article is correct, the extension cord was frayed, so if that was the cause, yeah, sounds like it was her fault. > **[Police release photo girl took before electrocution in bathtub](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/police-release-photo-girl-sent-before-electrocution-death-in-bathtub/)** > > Police believe Madison Coe sent photo and message to a friend minutes before she died > The photo shows a phone charger plugged into a frayed extension cord next to the bathtub. Police believe Madison Coe sent that photo to a friend minutes before she died. She sent the photo with the message: “When you use and (sic) extension cord so you can plug your phone in while you’re in the bath.” [![](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/07/19/536c2288-46d5-43f0-84f1-27701e20201a/thumbnail/620x323/397db1d59047313124e0a68eb3280fbc/extension-cord-klbk.png?v=63a2b43e2ef8917aa6bd547ca29dd4fa) ](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/07/19/536c2288-46d5-43f0-84f1-27701e20201a/thumbnail/620x323/397db1d59047313124e0a68eb3280fbc/extension-cord-klbk.png?v=63a2b43e2ef8917aa6bd547ca29dd4fa) ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/15 "2025-03-04T20:09:47Z")
Somehow, some way, she made contact with the “hot” conductor on the mains (120 VAC relative to earth) through a path that had a resistance that was too low. Making contact with the “hot” spring socket at the end of the extension cord, or at the plug side of the adapter (they mate together, obviously) would certainly do it. Making contact with the exposed “hot” conductor in a frayed extension cord would do it. And as previously mentioned, excessive leakage current from the USB side of the adapter would also do it. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/16 "2025-03-04T20:21:14Z")
The best advice, obviously, is to not plug your phone into anything when you’re in the bathroom. But if you feel you absolutely need to charge it in the bathroom, there are a couple of reasonable options. One is to use a portable power bank. The other is to use a UL-listed USB adapter plugged into the 120 VAC GFCI receptacle and _long_ cable between phone and adapter. (Either buy a longer phone cable, or buy a USB extension cable.) Before doing the latter, hit the test button on the GFCI receptacle to make sure the receptacle’s protection circuitry works. If I were in the _tub_, though, I would still be nervous about connecting my phone to a USB adapter using a long USB cord, despite any protections (GFCI, etc.). I wouldn’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/17 "2025-03-04T20:32:27Z")
I’ve griped about this before, but what does “frayed” even mean in the context of an extension cord covered in flexible plastic? Extension cords where the only thing between the copper and you was woven fabric that could “fray” haven’t been sold for 60+ years now. From the pic posted upthread, there is nothing “frayed” that I can identify about the cords. Anyone else see anything? For sure if the whole blob consisting of the extension cord female end and the charger wall wart fell into the tub, there’d be plenty of 120V electricity floating about in there with her. Likewise if she picked that blob up with a bare dripping hand. Zapp!!! ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/18 "2025-03-04T20:35:14Z")
I wouldn’t use my phone in the tub anyway, but that’s due to fear of dropping it into the water and drowning it. I’ll leave it to my pet electrician, @Bob_Blaylock , to address the parts that fall into his area of skill. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/19 "2025-03-04T20:39:09Z")
Most smart phones sold over the last few years won’t die from being dropped in the water and quickly pulled out. I’ve never dropped it but I’m not afraid to use my phone in the hot tub, just not with a long ass extension cord attaching it to an outlet ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118/20 "2025-03-04T20:51:47Z")
Nowadays extension cords, and for that matter almost all electrical wires/cords/cables for consumer use, are insulated with PVC. It’s fairly durable, but can still fail: the copper conductors can sometimes be exposed due to chafing, sharp edges, etc. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-2017-teenager-dies-after-charging-cell-phone-falls-into-tub/1015118.md?page=2)