A South Carolina mother was charged with murder and attempted murder after killing one of her daughters and trying to drown a second child when her oldest daughter woke up and saved her sister, authorities said.
Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the incident at 1:25 a.m. local time in Saint Helena Island, South Carolina, on Friday and immediately arrested 37-year-old Jamie Bradley Brun “based on information received by the emergency services dispatcher,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Deputies searched the home and found a 6-year-old girl deceased. Responders performed CPR on the child, but could not revive her, the Associated Press reported.
The sheriff’s office said Brun “most likely drowned the 6-year-old” and tried to drown her 8-year-old daughter.
“A plea for help from the 8-year-old woke others in the home who were able to intervene and call 911 for help,” the sheriff’s office said.
‘She defended her family when no one else was available’
Brun’s 16-year-old daughter was asleep when she heard her 8-year-old sister’s screams. Tanner said the child’s cries were coming from the bathroom.
The teen went into the bathroom, took her sister away from her mother and ran to a nearby family member’s house where she called 911, Tanner said.
“I’m very proud of her,” Tanner said. “She defended her family when no one else was available.”
Brun is charged with murder and attempted murder, the sheriff’s office said. The Beaufort County Coroner’s Office is conducting an autopsy to confirm the child’s cause of death.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s Special Victims Unit-Department of Child Fatalities is investigating the incident alongside the sheriff’s office.
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Contributing: The Associated Press