Madison Coe was killed while using her phone in the bath. Photos / Facebook
Madison Coe was killed while using her phone in the bath. Photos / Facebook
By Abigail Miller
The last photo sent by the 14-year-old girl who was electrocuted while using her cell phone while in the bath has been released.
Madison Coe, from Lovington, New Mexico, sent a text message to a friend along with a picture of her phone plugged into an extensioncord just minutes before she died, police believe.
"When you use and (sic) extension cord so you can plug in your phone while you're in the bath," the text read.
Above was a photo of an extension cord sitting on her towel with her phone charger plugged in.
Madison was at her father's house on July 9 when she was fatally electrocuted after touching a frayed extension cord she was using to charge her cell phone.
It was previously thought the teen dropped her charging Samsung Edge Plus into the bath, but police say the device was never immersed in the water, according to NBC 12.
In fact, Madison is thought to have taken extra precaution to keep the cords dry, by placing them on a towel. Officials said she wasn't aware that a large portion of the cord was frayed.
While she was in the bath, police said she reached over and touched the frayed extension cord, which had water in it, causing the fatal electric shock.
Her parents agreed to release the photo she took just before she died in an effort to raise awareness of dangers that come with using electronics near water. The family especially wants the message to reach other teens, to urge them not to use their portable electronics near water.
"She was my everything," her dad told KRQE earlier this week, as he paid tribute to his daughter.
Her family described Madison as a smart and loving girl, who recently graduated from the eighth grade at Terra Vista Middle School. There she played on the girl's basketball team and in the band.
She was spending the summer with her dad in Lovington when the fatal accident took place, before heading back to Houston, where her mom lives, to start high school.
They are now urging people to consider their advice: The bathroom is a place for showers and personal time and your phones don't belong in the bathroom. Electricity and water do not mix. All it takes is a drop," her step mom, Felisha Owens, said.
Donna O'Guinn, Madison's heartbroken grandmother, referred to the 14-year-old as her "shining star.'
"She was very smart. Very good student in school. She just loved life," O'Guinn said. "She was just sweet to everybody and everybody loved her."
The grieving grandmother then explained how there was a "burn mark" on Madison's hand from where she grabbed the phone, before adding she hopes it can be a lesson to others in future.
"This is such a tragedy that doesn't need to happen to anyone else," she told KCBD.
