TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A Florida sheriff's office says it recently investigated a mother accused of drowning her 4-year-old daughter in a river, but found no signs of abuse.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office issued a statement Friday saying in June and July it investigated 26-year-old Shakayla Denson's treatment of her daughter, Je'Hyrah Daniels, but found no signs of maltreatment, abuse, or neglect. The case was closed Tuesday.
Tampa police say Denson drove Je'Hyrah Daniels in a stolen car Thursday to the Hillsborough River, waded in with the girl, pushed her into the current and walked away.
Divers found the unconscious girl 30 minutes later. She was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
A judge Friday ordered Daniels held without bail on a first-degree murder charge.
TAMPA (RNN) - A Tampa woman has been arrested after she allegedly threw her child into a river.
Shakayla Monae Denson, 26, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated abuse in the death of her 4-year-old daughter. Denson is also charged with grand theft auto.
The Tampa Police Department received a report around 4 p.m. Thursday that Denson threw her 4-year-old daughter into the river near the Columbus Drive Bridge.
Police said Denson stole a vehicle from Jordan Auto Repair. She then parked the vehicle, and witnesses told police she waded into the Hillsborough River with her child. After getting halfway across the river, tossed her child and headed back to shore.
A dive team discovered the girl’s unconscious body and rushed her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 4:49 p.m., police said.
Denson was walking nearby and was arrested. No bond has been set for her.
Denson had recently sought help for her daughter who she said was on the autism spectrum.
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