‘Would not eat at the pace that he wanted’: Mom of 1-year-old girl found dead in bottom dresser drawer turns on boyfriend

The parent of a 1-year-old miss whose remains were discovered abandoned wrong a dresser successful Indiana has taken a plea woody and volition present cooperate with instrumentality enforcement, tribunal records show.

Madison Marshall, 25, volition plead blameworthy to 1 number each of neglect of a babelike resulting successful decease and neglect of a babelike for the decease of Oaklee Snow.

In March 2023, the suspect was arrested successful Harnett County, North Carolina, connected myriad charges including: neglect of a babelike resulting successful death, neglect of a babelike resulting successful superior injury, neglect of a babelike with endangerment, neglect of a babelike with abandonment, and 2 counts of assisting a transgression successful a murder.

On April 25, Marshall accepted the plea statement offered by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office. The plea volition beryllium formalized during a alteration of plea proceeding slated for May 1. Then, days later, she volition apt attest against the antheral charged with her daughter’s murder.

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That man, Roan Waters, 27, is acceptable to look a proceedings by assemblage connected May 12 connected charges of murder, neglect of a babelike resulting successful death, neglect of a babelike resulting successful superior injury, artillery resulting successful bodily wounded to a idiosyncratic nether 14, and neglect of a dependent.

In January 2023, Oaklee, who was conscionable shy of 2 years aged astatine the time, was spirited distant from Oklahoma to Indianapolis on with her 7-month-old brother. Prosecutors allege Marshall and Waters were the culprits. Both children were reported missing by the children’s father, Zachary Snow.

Snow told investigators with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office that Marshall and Waters took his lad and miss from their location connected Jan. 19, 2023, without his support earlier fleeing to Indiana wherever they would beryllium staying with Waters’ mother.

Somewhere on the way, however, and nether inactive murky circumstances, the young miss was killed and her assemblage was hidden.

While the young lad was yet reunited with his begetter aft being recovered abandoned successful what authorities described arsenic a “trap house,” communal terminology for location dedicated to illicit cause use, it would beryllium months earlier Oaklee’s assemblage was recovered.

A nationalist hunt for the 2 ft tall, 35 pound, blonde-haired and blue-eyed miss culminated successful late April 2023 erstwhile Marshall, successful custody, led authorities to an abandoned Morgantown location wherever Oaklee’s tortured and breached assemblage had been stuffed into a dresser.

According to a probable origin affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, Marshall told investigators Waters would regularly “whoop” Oaklee arsenic a signifier of subject for immoderate perceived misbehavior, including “holding a fork wrong,” urinating successful her diaper, and galore different behaviors communal to toddlers. On respective occasions, the antheral besides allegedly “choked her out.”

She besides seemingly told investigators that Oaklee had stopped eating astir Waters due to the fact that “he regularly became assertive with her erstwhile she would not devour astatine the gait that helium wanted her to,” constabulary said.

Marshall told detectives the fatal time was Feb. 9, 2023.

The girl’s parent said she heard Waters successful the surviving country repeatedly yelling astatine Oaklee to bounce connected an inflatable rubber shot with a handle. After the “fifth and loudest clip that helium yelled astatine her, Marshall went successful to cheque connected them and said she saw Waters “standing implicit Oaklee arsenic she sat trying to bounce connected the ball,” according to the affidavit.

Marshall said she saw Waters beryllium connected the couch, portion she went backmost to the kitchen. Minutes later, the girl’s parent said she heard Waters shriek for her girl – adding that she “never heard [him] dependable similar that before.”

“She met him successful the hallway arsenic helium held Oaklee successful his arms,” the affidavit reads. “She saw that Oaklee was not moving. R. Waters continually repeated without prompting that helium ‘didn’t bash anything’ and that ‘it wasn’t [his] fault.’ He initially refused to fto Marshall instrumentality Oaklee from him and stripped her of her clothes. Marshall could spot Oaklee’s tummy and thorax cavity widen arsenic if she was trying to respire air. However, she observed what appeared to beryllium a premix of humor and spittle dripping from her rima erstwhile she tried to exhale, which created a gurgling sound. Oaklee’s eyes remained closed passim this time.”

The girl, by then, was apt dormant oregon dying – but Waters allegedly would not let the child’s parent to dial 911, Marshall told instrumentality enforcement. Instead, Waters wrapped Oaklee successful a broad and enactment her successful the backmost of his car with Marshall, according to the affidavit. Marshall went connected to archer constabulary she opened the broad to cheque connected her girl and recovered Oaklee had stopped trying to respire – her lips had turned blue.

“Marshall felt her skin, which present seemed chill to the touch,” the affidavit goes on. “She could besides nary longer consciousness a heartbeat arsenic she held her. Marshall pulled Oaklee’s eyelids backmost to further analyse her but saw nary question oregon effect successful them. She held Oaklee’s manus earlier yet climbing up to the beforehand spot adjacent to R. Waters.”

Said to beryllium “hysterical and sobbing,” erstwhile starring investigators to the grim find, Marshall said she and Waters drove to the abandoned location together. There, her then-boyfriend took Oaklee’s assemblage retired of the car, entered the gathering done a window, and came retired soon thereafter, alone.

Oaklee’s decomposed assemblage was recovered successful the dresser’s bottommost drawer. Police said her near limb had been “clearly breached astatine the genu truthful that the near ft rested straight implicit her chest.”

In June 2023, the Morgan County Coroner’s Office determined the young miss died owed to a “homicide of unspecified means.” A fewer months prior, Marshall and Waters were arrested successful Colorado and extradited backmost to Marion County successful the Hoosier State.

Now, Marshall faces a condemnation of 25 years down bars for her practice connected the neglect resulting successful decease charge. Prosecutors are besides apt to propulsion for a condemnation of 2 years successful situation for the remaining neglect complaint – to beryllium served concurrently, oregon astatine the aforesaid time, according to tribunal documents obtained by Bedford, Indiana-based radio presumption WBIW.

Law&Crime reached retired to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office for further details and remark connected this communicative but nary effect was instantly forthcoming astatine the clip of publication.