Gainesville woman accused of drowning 7-month-old baby in bathtub

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A Gainesville woman is accused of drowning her 7-month-old daughter in a bathtub, according to the Gainesville Police Department. 

Tierra Scott-Franklin, 23, was arrested and charged with homicide. 

According to police, Scott-Franklin called 911 on Wednesday and told dispatchers that she had drowned her baby. When officers and paramedics arrived at the Sweetwater Square Apartments, they found a baby unresponsive in a bathtub. 

The baby was taken UF Health Shands Pediatrics, where she was pronounced dead. 

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Scott-Franklin admitted to putting the baby in a tub that was half-filled with water, according to the arrest report. She told officers that baby’s face was under the water and she left the bathroom and closed the door. 

According to the report, Scott-Franklin told police she expected the baby to "go." She told officers that she returned to the bathroom five minutes later and removed the child from the bathtub. 

"The defendant stated she performed some chest compressions on the victim but stopped after seeing liquid come from the victim’s mouth," the report stated. 

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Scott-Franklin told police she’s facing other legal issues, and she was afraid she’d lose custody of her child, according to the report. She reportedly told police that, "If I can’t have my baby, no one can." According to the report, she also said she didn’t regret it.

Scott-Franklin told police that she’s been diagnosed with "multiple mental illnesses and hears voices." She also told police that she researched suffocation two weeks before the drowning, according to the report. 

Scott-Franklin was booked into the Alachua County Jail. 

Gainesville police said the investigation is ongoing.