Conn. Mom Accused of Drowning Daughter, 2, in River, Telling Police She and Child Went Swimming

Connecticut River.Photo:Getty Images

Getty Images

A Connecticut mother was arrested Thursday and charged in connection with her 2-year-old daughter’s September drowning death.

Miller has been charged with murder, reckless endangerment first-degree, interfering with an emergency call, reckless driving, evading responsibility in operation of other vehicles and risk of injury to a child, Connecticut State Policesaidin a statement Thursday.

Miller allegedly crashed her car into two other drivers on a Pennsylvania highway before getting out, angrily confronting a good Samaritan who attempted to call 911, and then running away from the scene of the crash with her child in her arms, the affidavit states.

The mother allegedly told police that her child “ran down” to the Connecticut River and was now “floating,” pointing them to where they could find her daughter. She allegedly told the officers, who were responding to the car crash, that she and her child were swimming at the time, according to the affidavit.

Police alleged that Miller told officers to “just kill me” while they questioned her about what happened. “I’m not crazy, just a little depressed,” she allegedly said, asking police to “just take me to jail," according to the affidavit.

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“You can’t call 911, I can’t go back there, they are going to take me back there,” Miller allegedly said, according to the affidavit. The affidavit alleges that she “repeatedly” tried to grab the woman’s cellphone to hang up the phone, the victim also told police.

The witness alleged to police Miller left the scene of the crash while carrying her child, though the witness said they didn’t know where the mother was going. When police arrived, they found Miller walking back to the scene of the crash without the child, wearing only her underwear, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit alleges responding officers asked her about her clothes and Miller replied: “I had to get rid of it.”

Before that crash, Miller had allegedly crashed into another vehicle before continuing to drive, the affidavit states. The first driver told police that Miller allegedly “never slowed down” before crashing into her and that after their initial impact, she backed up and crashed back into the other car two more times before driving away and crashing into the second car, according to the affidavit.Connecticut State Police allege that an ensuing investigation in the days after the accident found that family and coworkers were growing concerned about Miller’s behavior, the affidavit says.

On the morning of the accident, Miller was “sent home from work after acting erratic and displaying violent tendencies, such as throwing items in the office,” the affidavit alleges. And in the months prior, Miller’s family allegedly told police that she had “multiple physical and emotional outbursts" and often spoke about the Bible despite rarely expressing interest in religion beforehand, according to the affidavit.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

source: people.com