First Posted: 3/17/2015
CINCINNATI (AP) — An Ohio woman accused of decapitating her 3-month-old daughter had been ordered by a court to stay away from the child, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
Watkins had been forbidden to have contact with the baby after she was hospitalized for psychiatric problems, according to authorities.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said the baby had been placed in an aunt’s custody and that a 5-year-old at the house Monday with other children to catch a school bus found the baby’s body on a kitchen counter. Police arriving in response to a 911 call found the baby decapitated and stabbed multiple times with a large chef’s knife.
Deters said the aunt apparently had let the baby’s mother move in with her and the baby about a week earlier. Police found the 20-year-old mother, Deasia Watkins, in bed covered with blood, Deters said. Watkins was arrested Monday and charged with aggravated murder.
“This is one of the most disturbing cases, I have ever seen in my life,” Deters said.
County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco said the baby’s injuries also included a fractured arm.
“These are images that will be indelibly marked in my memory,” Sammarco said.
Deters said the mother hasn’t spoken and is in a Cincinnati hospital.
The prosecutor doesn’t anticipate seeking the death penalty in the case at this time.
“It was pretty clear to the officers involved that she is suffering from some serious mental issues,” Deters said.
The baby’s father has not been located, Deters said.
