A Minnesota woman allegedly held her young child under water in a bathtub until she died just days before Christmas, leading her to be charged with murder, USA Today reported on Friday.
When police arrived at the apartment on Tuesday, they found Kayla Marie Jones, 25. She was arrested and put in a squad car when officers noticed that her clothes were soaking wet.
A man identified as Jones' boyfriend was crying and screaming at the scene. He said the two had a fight, and when he ran back into the apartment, he found the child dead in the tub.
Jones allegedly had been awake for two days and believed her boyfriend was molesting her daughter. Jones herself said she was molested as a child, and felt her daughter was experiencing the same trauma because she was sleeping with her hands down her pants.
While watching TV she heard "save the child, don't send him to...the monster." The mother allegedly knew she was killing her daughter, but couldn't stop herself. Jones said she wanted to save her daughter from the pain of molestation.
"It's horrible and the injuries documented in the complaint, there was a struggle. This child tried to save herself," said Richard Dusterhoft, who leads the criminal division for Ramsey County Attorney's Office. "Mom fought her and held her underwater. And it's shocking to everyone, the police, fire department, medical examiner's office and our office. It's shocking something like this happens to a 6 year old dependent upon a parent for protection,"
Jones faces a maximum of 40 years in prison if she is found guilty of second-degree murder, according to CBS Local.
