A 56-year-old grandmother is facing murder charges after she allegedly took her own grandchild’s life. According to Fox 59, Helen Martin was arrested on March 28 after police were called to a home in response to reports that a 4-year-old child was unresponsive.
It was Martin’s husband who originally told the responding police officers that Martin had drowned her grandchild. And as Fox 59 reports, Martin reportedly did not deny her husband’s accusation.
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According to court documents, Martin told police that just before she allegedly killed her grandson, her husband left their home to run a few errands. It was then that she decided to give the child a bath.
While the child was taking a bath, Martin explained that she got into the tub as well, fully clothed, and held the child’s head under the water. Once the boy became unresponsive, she got out of the tub, changed her clothes, and let her husband discover the boy in the tub.
Grandmother Drowns Her Grandchild Because He’d Be “Better Off in Heaven”
It was Martin’s husband who pulled the child from the water. She then told authorities that she took her own grandchild’s life because he would “be better off in heaven than to be with her,” adding that she had been “so depressed recently.”
As Fox 59 reports, Martin also reportedly struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder from a “past abusive marriage, depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.” She also told police that she doesn’t remember making the 911 call after her husband discovered the boy in the tub.
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Martin remains in jail without bond. The grandmother was officially charged with murder and neglect of a dependent resulting in death on March 30, WTHR reports.