Another young child has died, allegedly at the hands of their parent. Police in Hendersonville, Tennessee, have charged a mother with first-degree murder after her child drowned in a creek on July 13, reported People magazine.
Since her arrest, court documents have revealed that 33-year-old Brandi Elliott, had taken her 7-year-old daughter Piper Elliott, to nearby Drakes Creek and held her under the water until she'd died. As People reported, according to the documents, Brandi had told investigators after her daughter's death that she'd just wanted "time alone."
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The mother said she was 'having a rough day.'
According to Nashville's WKRN, Brandi Elliott told police that she wanted to be alone "after having a rough day." When she left her apartment to go down the stairwell, her young daughter followed her.
That's when Brandi Elliott took her daughter across the street to the creek. Allegedly, Brandi Elliott told Piper Elliott to be quiet and held her down in the water "like a large mouth bass," Brandi Elliott reportedly said.
Per News Channel 5, Brandi Elliott kept repeating to investigators that her daughter wouldn't give her what she wanted, which was "time alone." WKRN reported that at one point after holding Piper Elliott under, Brandi Elliott did attempt CPR on her daughter but it was too late.
She'd previously been diagnosed with postpartum depression.
At a bond hearing, Brandi Elliott told the court that she'd been previously diagnosed with postpartum depression, according to another WKRN report.
"When my daughter was 2, I kind of lost it like I did this time," Brandi Elliott said. "I had postpartum depression and they gave me medicine for it. I was having a really bad time with sleeping."
Her attorney reportedly declined for her current mental health to be evaluated as part of her case.
Friends were shocked to learn of Piper's death.
"It's not like the Brandi we knew," her friend DeAnna Sartain told News Channel 5 after hearing about Piper Elliott's death. "I keep analyzing it and there's nothing. I just don't get it."
Brandi Elliott's coworker Jasmine Emery told WKRN that she was in "shock" hearing the news. "I couldn’t believe that she would do something like this. She loved [her daughter] more than anything in the world and [she] was her everything. It's crazy to think that [Piper] is gone now," Emery said.
The mom could face the death penalty.
The death penalty is legal in Tennessee, according to USA Today. WKRN reported that it's an option in Brandi Elliott's case, but the district attorney was not yet sure if the prosecution would seek that. However, Brandi Elliott was advised of the possibility and reportedly responded, "Yes, sir," when told.
Brandi Elliott was denied bond, per News Channel 5, and will remain in custody until her next hearing on August 14.
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Her husband Jon Elliott is now on his own.
Following his wife's arrest and daughter's death, Brandi Elliott's husband, Jon Elliott, has been left on his own. According to The Tennessean, he's been in the hospital for an unnamed medical issue. Family friend Kip Ziemer told the outlet that his wife and daughter had visited Jon Elliott in the hospital just hours before Piper Elliott's death. Jon Elliot has since taken to Facebook to post a memorial for his daughter.
"Piper Elliot is a new angel in Heaven. A beautiful angel was taken before she could begin her journey through life," he wrote. "May the arms of the angels in heaven wrap their wings around her and guide her through the gates of heaven. Piper, you are loved and missed."
Ziemer has set up a GoFundMe to help Jon Elliott in the wake of this tragedy. It currently has collected over $6,000.
