TN - Mother drowns 7-year old daughter - Jul. 15, 2024

[Clearsky]

Mom having a ‘rough day’ accused of drowning 7-year-old daughter, police say

A mother was arrested and charged with murder after her 7-year-old daughter drowned in Tennessee on Saturday, police said.

www.wmbfnews.com

Investigation revealed that the mother, 33-year-old Brandi Elliott, was at fault, police said.

 

[tlcya]

Elliott said she was having a “rough day” and that her daughter wasn’t leaving her alone, according to the arrest report.

Mom having a ‘rough day’ accused of drowning 7-year-old daughter, police say

HERE'S TO HOPING EVERY DAY RIGHT UP UNTIL HER LAST DAY IS ROUGHER STILL

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Sincere condolences to all of the other relatives who now have to bury a precious child.

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1813933787102732535

 

[tlcya]

A Nashville mother accused of drowning her daughter because she wanted to be left alone sobbed in court as she was denied bond and learned she could be executed.

<modsnip - copyright>
Wretched courtroom behavior of mother accused of drowning her daughter

cry a river lady. her tears are for herself.

 

[Rusty Braincells]

Wretched courtroom behavior of mother accused of drowning her daughter

cry a river lady. her tears are for herself.

My exact thoughts when I saw that DM piece. She’s suddenly now capable of having feelings since she’s in the worst trouble imaginable for such a horrific crime.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I disagree that sobbing heavily in court is "wretched" behavior, regardless of the reason. It's actually pretty appropriate. (ETA: Nevermind, I guess it technically meets the definitions of wretched, one of which is "characterized by...misery and sorrow.")

I wonder why neither side thinks she needs a psychological evaluation yet.

This is possibly a death penalty case? A woman known for a fact to have battled serious depression -- maybe still is, caregiver to a disabled husband, and working at McDonalds?

It's not that she shouldn't face possibly LWOP, but they don't even go for the DP in much more horrific cases sometimes, so I am pretty surprised. All IMO.

Wretched courtroom behavior of mother accused of drowning her daughter

Brandi Elliot, 33, was charged with first-degree murder and denied bond after she allegedly drowned her seven-year-old daughter Piper.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1826390035836354638

 

[borndem]

I disagree that sobbing heavily in court is "wretched" behavior, regardless of the reason. It's actually pretty appropriate. (ETA: Nevermind, I guess it technically meets the definitions of wretched, one of which is "characterized by...misery and sorrow.")

I wonder why neither side thinks she needs a psychological evaluation yet.

This is possibly a death penalty case? A woman known for a fact to have battled serious depression -- maybe still is, caregiver to a disabled husband, and working at McDonalds?

It's not that she shouldn't face possibly LWOP, but they don't even go for the DP in much more horrific cases sometimes, so I am pretty surprised. All IMO.

Wretched courtroom behavior of mother accused of drowning her daughter

Brandi Elliot, 33, was charged with first-degree murder and denied bond after she allegedly drowned her seven-year-old daughter Piper.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Totally agree, @ChatteringBirds.

 

[red carpet fiber]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1826390035836354638

Article says it's a head injury and jail staff will only confirm it wasn't violence (fight/attack) that caused the injury.
I did a Google image search of Sumner County Jail in TN. This is a pic of what the cell blocks look like. I wonder if she sat or stood on that upper rail, and jumped or intentionally fell backwards on her head to the concrete floor. That's the only thing I can think of, as to how you'd get a "horrific head injury" in jail (that didn't involve violence). Falling from height.
I think she had a history of mental health issues.

 

[borndem]

Welcome to Websleuths,
red carpet fiber !!​

 

[ChatteringBirds]

She needs long-term mental health treatment. She should have been fully evaluated. It's really hard to understand how this happened, because she should have been on suicide watch, all IMO.

 

[SMK777]

I disagree that sobbing heavily in court is "wretched" behavior, regardless of the reason. It's actually pretty appropriate. (ETA: Nevermind, I guess it technically meets the definitions of wretched, one of which is "characterized by...misery and sorrow.")

I wonder why neither side thinks she needs a psychological evaluation yet.

This is possibly a death penalty case? A woman known for a fact to have battled serious depression -- maybe still is, caregiver to a disabled husband, and working at McDonalds?

It's not that she shouldn't face possibly LWOP, but they don't even go for the DP in much more horrific cases sometimes, so I am pretty surprised. All IMO.

Wretched courtroom behavior of mother accused of drowning her daughter

Brandi Elliot, 33, was charged with first-degree murder and denied bond after she allegedly drowned her seven-year-old daughter Piper.

www.dailymail.co.uk

I was confused, too, why her defense thought there was no need for a psych evaluation.

 

[SMK777]

Article says it's a head injury and jail staff will only confirm it wasn't violence (fight/attack) that caused the injury.
I did a Google image search of Sumner County Jail in TN. This is a pic of what the cell blocks look like. I wonder if she sat or stood on that upper rail, and jumped or intentionally fell backwards on her head to the concrete floor. That's the only thing I can think of, as to how you'd get a "horrific head injury" in jail (that didn't involve violence). Falling from height.
I think she had a history of mental health issues.
View attachment 526073

It sounds like something along those lines, since it was not the result of an attack by an inmate.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

I was confused, too, why her defense thought there was no need for a psych evaluation.

You can't really order a psych evaluation just because of someone's history or the crime they committed on its own. A psych eval in cases like this are only to determine if the individual has the capacity to understand what's happening and to be part of the judicial process. Is there reason to believe she doesn't?

Now if the head injury is the result of self-injury then she needs a mental health eval to determine what mental health services she needs while in prison. But it will have little to do with the trial. Most people in prison receive mental health services, such as it is.

 

[tlcya]

She needs long-term mental health treatment. She should have been fully evaluated. It's really hard to understand how this happened, because she should have been on suicide watch, all IMO.

I'm surprised that not only the State didn't want a mental health evaluation but that the defense attorney also did not??

 

[ChatteringBirds]

. A psych eval in cases like this are only to determine if the individual has the capacity to understand what's happening and to be part of the judicial process. Is there reason to believe she doesn't?

From the linked article:
The mother reportedly said she only realized what she had done after it was too late.

I feel this is enough if a reason for a psych evaluation, but maybe the system disagrees.

Wretched courtroom behavior of mother accused of drowning her daughter

Brandi Elliot, 33, was charged with first-degree murder and denied bond after she allegedly drowned her seven-year-old daughter Piper.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Dotta]

"On Sunday,
she was treated for banging her head against the wall in her cell, causing two black eyes.

Then on Monday,
she reportedly dove head-first off her bunk and onto the concrete floor.

Elliott was then rushed to a local hospital unable to breathe,
but is now in stable condition.

Once she is released from the hospital,
Elliott will be sent to a state facility that is better suited to deal with her self-destructive conduct
while she awaits a grand jury indictment and trial.

It is now expected that her defense attorneys will use her mental health issues to argue she has a diminished mental capacity in an effort to avoid criminal liability."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1826737485256302687

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

From the linked article:
The mother reportedly said she only realized what she had done after it was too late.

I feel this is enough if a reason for a psych evaluation, but maybe the system disagrees.

Wretched courtroom behavior of mother accused of drowning her daughter

Brandi Elliot, 33, was charged with first-degree murder and denied bond after she allegedly drowned her seven-year-old daughter Piper.

www.dailymail.co.uk

I'm sure it was a traumatic event for her too, but we really shouldn't open up mental health arguments for every criminal who says such things. How many times have we heard it in a domestic violence or child abuse case? "I didn't realize I was doing anything wrong until they died" or "I didn't realize how hard I hit him/her until it was too late."

Sometimes, criminal behavior is just criminal behavior, even if the individual isn't inherently evil. That's why "crime of passion"/manslaughter exists.

But it doesn't mean they're psychotic or that they have a mental health condition that made them do it.

MOO

 

[ChatteringBirds]

@BeginnerSleuther I understand what you're saying, and I usually have less empathy, but this woman had a known history of serious depression and they had not taken the death penalty off the table. For some reason with this case, her history, her words and behavior after the crime -- it adds up to a strong belief that she should have received an evaluation for me. That's not asking too much in a potential death penalty case, IMO.

I also think her attorney should be interested in the results but IANAL.