Tampa, Florida – A mom waded into the Hillsborough River and tossed her four-year-old daughter into the water.
Little Je’Hyrah Daniels’ was recovered a half-hour later by a police diver but was pronounced dead at hospital a few minutes later.
It’s not clear what prompted 26-year-old Shakayla Denson to allegedly dump her daughter into the river near the Columbus Drive Bridge.
“At approximately 4 p.m. Tampa Police received a report that a woman had thrown a child into the Hillsborough River,” said a police spokesman.
The unconscious child was recovered by a dive team member about 75 feet away from shore.
She was pronounced dead at 4.49 p.m. on Thursday.
“Police quickly located the woman suspected of tossing the child into the water. She was walking nearby and was taken into custody,” police said.
The investigation determined the woman had stolen a Nissan Altima from a nearby auto repair shop just prior to the incident.
Witnesses said she then parked her vehicle and waded into the water with her daughter.
“Roughly half way across the river, she tossed the child and began wading out,” police added.
Denson has now been charged with first degree felony murder, aggravated child abuse and grand theft auto.
A motive is unclear at this time for the shocking act. However, the mom had started a gofundme page with a picture of herself and her daughter.
“My daughter was recently diagnose 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.”
But it also seems as though not one penny was raised during the nine months that she ran the campaign looking for $1,500.
On the day of the child’s death the gofundme campaign had collected no money at all.
Whether this triggered a fatal frustration could not be determined.
