Alabama mother accused of taking drugs, nude photos while toddler drowned in pond
ECLECTIC, Ala. – An Alabama woman is accused of taking drugs and nude photos of herself inside her home while her 2-year-old son wandered away and drowned in a nearby pond, authorities said.
Marlena Murray, 29, of Eclectic, was indicted by an Elmore County grand jury on a charge of negligent homicide on Oct. 11, WSFA-TV reported.
Murray’s indictment alleges she “recklessly caused the death of another person by being criminally negligent,” according to the television station.
She surrendered to authorities on Tuesday evening and was booked into the Elmore County Jail, according to online booking records.
Murray was indicted in the May 2 death of her son, Josiah Meadors, WSFA reported.
According to police, Murray called 911 at about 5:11 p.m. CDT, about 15 minutes after her son allegedly ran off the property. Police and fire agencies searched the area and found the boy about an hour later unresponsive in a pond about 1,400 feet from the home, according to the television station.
Meadors was pronounced dead at an area hospital after CPR attempts failed. He would have turned 3 on June 27, according to his obituary.
According to Detective Zack Lyles of the Eclectic Police Department, Murray told 911 dispatchers she was outside with her son and reached for his cup when she noticed him running off with his dog, WSFA reported. The woman said she saw where the boy ran but went in the opposite direction to alert relatives and call 911.
Lyles said an investigation determined that Murray was not outside with her son, but inside her home allegedly using illegal narcotics and taking nude photographs of herself for solicitation purposes, WSFA reported.
Lyles said the investigation determined her claims were not true, and that she was actually inside using illegal narcotics and taking nude photographs for solicitation when her son ran off.
“This is something that is not OK,” Lyles told the television station.
Murray is being held at the Elmore County Jail and her bail was set at $75,000, online records show.
If convicted of the negligent homicide charge, Murray faces up to one year in the county jail, WSFA reported.
