Pregnant Ohio woman with mental issues films herself trying to drown 6-year-old son in bathtub, sends video to child's father
CLEVELAND, OHIO: A 25-year-old mother was indicted on more than 30 criminal charges after she filmed herself trying to drown her six-year-old son in a bathtub and sent the video to the boy's father.
The mother, 25-year-old Dazshea Watkins, who is reportedly pregnant with her second child was arrested on September 4 for an incident that took place a week earlier.
She was indicted on two counts of attempted murder, six counts of felonious assault, 15 counts of endangering children, four counts of kidnapping, four counts of domestic violence and one count of pandering obscenity involving a minor.
During her arraignment on Wednesday, she pleaded not guilty to all those charges. On or around August 28, Watkins, who suffers from mental health issues, recorded herself holding her son by the neck under the water in a bathtub.
The six-year-old can be seen kicking and squirming underwater, trying desperately to escape her grasp. The video ended without showing Watkins pulling the child out of the water, according to a Cleveland report.
After the boy's father saw the video, he rushed over to the apartment where Watkins stayed and immediately took his son away. According to the police, the boy survived the drowning attempt and is now living with relatives.
After the boy’s aunt saw the video, she reported it to Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services, who filed a police report. The mother was also accused of using "excessive and inappropriate discipline" against the child, which left marks of abuse on his stomach, back, face, legs, and arms, according to court records.
Her past record also showed that she had beaten the boy several times, including hitting him on the head with a broom on one occasion. On another occasion, she was also accused of trying to smother the boy with a pillow.
When a caseworker talked to the 25-year-old mother on the phone, she told them that she was pregnant and hence felt lonely and frustrated. Watkins had previous run-ins with child protective services in 2014 and 2015 but was not charged any of those times.