New Mom and Therapist Allegedly Drowned 3-Month-Old Baby in Bathtub
Mackenzie Colgan/LinkedIn
A Maryland mother has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly drowning her 3-month-old daughter in a bathtub at her home, according to court documents.
Mackenzie R. Colgan, 37, called 911 on Sunday from her home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, to report that she had drowned her infant daughter in the bathtub, the Montgomery County Police Department confirmed. First responders quickly arrived at the scene, but despite their efforts to save the child, she was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
A probable cause affidavit reviewed by Law & Crime detailed the timeline of events. At around 11:40 a.m., Colgan allegedly took the infant, whose name has not been released, from other family members, informing them that she planned to bathe the child upstairs. Approximately 20 minutes later, Colgan reportedly returned to the first floor and told the girl’s father that the baby had died in the bathtub.
The father immediately instructed Colgan to call 911 and ran upstairs in an attempt to perform CPR. After the 911 call, police took Colgan in for questioning. During the interview, Colgan, a licensed clinical counselor, allegedly told detectives that she had woken up that morning with a plan to “end everything.”
She confessed that she had decided to kill both her children and her husband. “She then said that she turned the baby to face away from her and held the victim’s head under the water until she knew the victim was dead,” police wrote, according to People.
Colgan claimed she had intended to jump out of the window of her home afterward but changed her mind once she reached the ledge. It was then that she told her husband what she had done. Colgan has been charged with first-degree murder and is being held in Montgomery County Jail.
A mental health evaluation has been ordered prior to her first court appearance. Montgomery County District Attorney Lauren DeMarco described the situation as “extremely sad” in a statement to NBC 4. Colgan’s attorney confirmed that the therapist had no prior criminal convictions.
