St. Helena mother accused of killing 6-year-old daughter, attempting to drown 8-year-old

Evan McKenna
·2 min read
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A mother of three from St. Helena Island is in custody after allegedly drowning her six-year-old daughter and attempting to drown her eight-year-old, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Jamie Bradley-Brun, 37, was charged Friday morning with murder and attempted murder, jail records show.

Sheriff’s deputies arrived at a house on St. Helena’s Sam Doyle Drive around 1:25 a.m. Friday morning after receiving a report that a woman was trying to drown her child. Police found the body of six-year-old Mackaya Bradley-Brun, who appeared to have drowned.

Autopsy results revealed the six-year-old had drowned, Beaufort County Coroner David Ott announced Friday afternoon. Her death was ruled as a homicide, and the coroner’s final ruling came at 2:15 a.m. for the time of death.

Investigators say the mother most likely drowned the six-year-old girl, then allegedly tried to drown her eight-year-old daughter as well. The older child’s “plea for help” woke others in the home, who intervened and called 911, according to a Friday afternoon release from the Sheriff’s Office.

According to Beaufort County’s judicial circuit index, the suspect has no previous arrests in the county.

The eight-year-old girl was in stable condition following the attempted drowning, Sheriff PJ Tanner told reporters at a Friday afternoon press conference in Beaufort. She and her 16-year-old sister are staying with nearby relatives.

Asked to elaborate on the morning’s circumstances, Tanner did not specify the mother’s potential motive.

“I know what happened, and it’s pretty horrific,” he said.

“I know what happened, and it’s pretty horrific,” Beaufort County Sheriff PJ Tanner told reporters at a Friday afternoon press conference. Police charged a St. Helena mother with murder and attempted murder, alleging the woman drowned her six-year-old daughter before attempting to drown the girl’s older sister.
“I know what happened, and it’s pretty horrific,” Beaufort County Sheriff PJ Tanner told reporters at a Friday afternoon press conference. Police charged a St. Helena mother with murder and attempted murder, alleging the woman drowned her six-year-old daughter before attempting to drown the girl’s older sister.

William Smith, a neighbor of Bradley-Brun and a member of the Beaufort County School Board, said the grief was palpable on Sam Doyle Road, a side street in the primarily Black community of southern St. Helena. Many of the street’s residents are part of the same family, he said, and most attend the nearby Bethesda Christian Fellowship church.

“We’re praying for the family, and the father, even the mother,” he told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. “That’s the mentality of this community: People are praying.”

Police are investigating alongside the Department of Child Fatalities within SLED’s Special Victims Unit, which investigates “suspicious, unexpected or unexplained” deaths of children.

According to Solicitor Duffie Stone, due to the severity of the murder and attempted murder charges, Bradley-Brun’s bond hearing will happen when Beaufort County Circuit Court convenes next. The future date is unknown but may take up to two or three weeks.