NEED TO KNOW
- Shaniece Willingham is accused of tying a rope to herself and her three children before pushing them into a pool
- Before the incident, she shared videos to Instagram Stories to share that she felt helpless because no one would take care of her children
- The children survived the alleged incident but were severely injured, per police
A Florida woman is facing several charges after allegedly taking her children to a pool to drown them — and recording the last moments on Instagram.
Shaniece Willingham, 24, was rescued alongside her children — ages 3, 2 and 8 months — by family members who intervened in the Wednesday, Sept. 24, incident in Valrico, Fla., the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to the community pool around 1:28 a.m. on Wednesday and found Willingham on the deck. The children had been taken to a nearby home after family members rescued them, per the statement.
On the night of the incident, Willingham got into a verbal altercation with her children’s father, Theophilus Williams, on the phone when her mother tried to intervene, according to a motion for pretrial detention reviewed by PEOPLE.
Willingham and her mother, Sherrisse McCray, got into an argument when McCray asked her to leave, according to the motion, which was obtained and shared online by Law & Crime.
Willingham then called Williams to request that he pick up the children, and that she would figure out options for herself.
Williams responded he “doesn’t give a f— and he ‘ain’t doing anything,’ ” the motion states.
The mother of three then carried her children to the community pool while allegedly sharing on Instagram that she felt helpless about her children receiving proper care.
She said it was her “last goodbye, and she could not take it anymore,” authorities alleged in the motion.
She also allegedly told her viewers that “she loved her kids so much, but she could not leave them behind because no one can take care of them, and they would be safe with God.”
Once she was in the pool area, she called her mother on FaceTime to show her where she was.
She then attached herself and the children with a rope so they could all be “bound together,” the motion states.
When she saw a vehicle approach them, she “pushed all three children and herself into the pool in an attempt to kill herself and her children,” authorities alleged in the motion.
The sheriff’s office said the children were then rescued by family members who had rushed to the scene, alarmed by the video.
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The children had significant injuries, the sheriff’s office stated.
Willingham has been charged with three counts of first-degree premeditated attempted murder, per the sheriff’s office.
“This incident is nothing short of horrific,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister in a statement. “The fear and betrayal these innocent children must have felt at the hands of the one person meant to love, care for, and protect them is unimaginable. This decision was not a cry for help; it was a deliberate act of cruelty. Mental health challenges may provide an explanation, but there is no excuse, no justification. These children were failed by their own mother, and it is only by the quick actions of their family that they are alive today.”
Online court records don’t indicate plea information, but Willingham is scheduled to appear in court next week for a pretrial detention hearing.
PEOPLE was unable to immediately reach the public defender’s office listed as her representation in court documents.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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