By Roxana Navarro
18 Jul 2024, 00:46 AM EDT
A Hendersonville woman has been charged with first-degree murder for allegedly drowning her daughter. After a hearing, authorities are determining whether she could be sentenced to the death penalty because it is an option for the state.
The Hendersonville Police Department announced that Brandi Elliott, 33, is in custody at the Summer County Jail, charged with murder in the death of her 7-year-old daughter, whom she allegedly drowned.
“I needed time alone”
In official documents obtained by WTVF, Elliott reportedly confessed that he did it because he needed some “alone time.”
Told the state could seek the death penalty, Elliott simply said, “Yes, sir.” His bail could be reviewed after a preliminary hearing, WKRN noted.
The same news outlet said Elliott has no criminal record, while her lawyer refused to allow her to undergo a mental health evaluation. She reportedly suffered from postpartum depression and took medication.
He held her under water
Hendersonville police said officers responded to Drakes Creek, a Nashville suburb, on July 13 after receiving a report of a child drowning. Investigators later determined that Elliott, the child’s mother, was allegedly responsible for the death, the statement said.
In the complaint, which was reported by news outlet WKRN, Elliott said she held the girl under water until she “felt bubbling” and told her to be quiet. The woman said she tried to revive the girl by performing CPR after she drowned, but she was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
His father is a disabled soldier.
The girl was identified through a GoFundMe donation campaign her family set up to help her father Jon Elliot, where they refer to the girl as Piper. The girl’s father is a disabled military veteran who is in the hospital.
The money raised will be used to cover funeral expenses, because the father does not have enough to give a funeral to his daughter, whom he saw in the hospital the same day she died.
Hendersonville police have asked anyone with information about the case to contact the department at 615-264-5303 or Hendersonville Crime Stoppers at 615-594-4113.
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