A woman in the US state of Florida has been charged with first degree murder after she allegedly drowned her 4-year old daughter by throwing her from a bridge into the Hillsborough River in Tampa Bay.
The horrifying incident which reportedly occured before the eyes of distraught onlookers has now led to the arrest of the little girl’s mother Shakayla Denson, 26.
According to ABC News Tampa Bay, Ms Denson deliberately threw her little girl Je’Hyrah Daniels into the water from the Columbus Drive Bridge before walking away from the scene.
It is believed that distraught locals alerted police who quickly arrived at the scene, although underwater divers tried frantically to save the little girl she sadly passed away whilst en-route too St Joseph’s hospital.
Police say they are still trying to determine why Ms Denson carried out the killing, they also confirmed that they have received reports that Ms Denson had stolen a grey Nissan Almera car before driving her daughter to the scene which was is located on W Aileen Street and Rome Avenue.
Officers investigating the case now say they are currently waiting for the results of a post-mortem examination in order to determine Je’Hyrah’s cause of death, they added Ms Denson faces a charge of Grand Theft Auto and first degree murder and she is due to re-appear before a court next Wednesday.
The devastating story was made all the more shocking after investigators uncovered that a GoFundMe Page had been setup for Je’Hyrah by Ms Denson a number of months ago.
It is reported that the page had been setup to raise funds for Je’Hyrah’s autism specttum therapy treatment.
The page bio said the following: “My daughter was recently diagnosed with autism spectrum, my goal is to start saving for therapy equipment, and also for je’hyrah’s future.”
“I’ve also gathered interest in reaching out to others living with autism, and would enjoy providing strategies and resources I’ve learn to help them get threw the day. Thanks and i appreciate it.”