‘Messed up’: Community mourns girl allegedly drowned by her mother
HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Family and friends try to make sense of a tragic, disturbing crime that left a 7-year-old girl dead.
That girl’s mother, Brandi Elliott, was charged with first-degree murder after reportedly drowning her daughter in Drakes Creek on Saturday.
PREVIOUS: Mother charged with drowning girl in Drakes Creek after ‘rough day’
“She was a good mother up until Saturday when all this took place,” family friend Kip Ziemer said.
Ziemer told News 2 that the girl’s father, Jon, was in the hospital when the incident happened.
“I never in a million years figured she would do that. Never. Now, to find out she did — and then she admitted it,” Ziemer said. “That’s messed up.”
As of publication, Elliot is being held in the Sumner County jail with no special accommodations.
“Jon told me that Brandi called him and she didn’t sound right,” Ziemer said. “She hung up on him a couple times and then it was going straight to voicemail.”
The state may go after the death penalty in this case.
Elliott attended her first hearing regarding this case on Tuesday. She told the judge that she had suffered from postpartum depression and was briefly medicated.
“A part of me says, you know, she needs some mental help. But another part says whatever she gets in the justice system, she deserves,” Ziemer said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the girl’s father. Because the state could seek capital punishment, Elliott has not been given a bond. Her next hearing has been set for August 14.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
