Background: News footage of Sweetwater Square Apartments in Gainesville, Fla. (WCJB). Inset: Tierra Scott-Franklin (Alachua County Sheriff”s Office).
A Florida mother faces a homicide charge after police said she drowned her infant daughter in the bathtub.
Tierra Scott-Franklin, 23, was arrested on Wednesday after Gainesville police said she called 911 to report that she drowned her 7-month-old daughter. In a Facebook post, the Gainesville Police Department said first responders arrived at the Sweetwater Square Apartments in Gainesville on Wednesday afternoon and found the infant “unresponsive in a bathtub.”
According to an arrest report reviewed by Law&Crime, EMS got to the apartment at 12:47 p.m. Lifesaving efforts were attempted on the baby girl, who was brought to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Police brought Scott-Franklin to the station for an interview. After she was read her rights, Scott-Franklin allegedly admitted to police that she filled the bathtub halfway and placed her baby daughter in the water, face-up. Police said she then left the room and closed the door behind her, expecting the baby to “go.”
Scott-Franklin went back into the room about five minutes later and removed the baby from the water. She told police there was a “white substance” coming from the baby’s nose and mouth. She claimed that she attempted chest compressions on the baby, but stopped when she saw fluid coming out of her mouth.
According to the report, Scott-Franklin told police, “If I can’t have my baby, no one can,” and “I’m sorry, but I don’t regret it.” The Alachua Chronicle reported that Scott-Franklin was on five years of probation after pleading no contest to a battery charge against a 67-year-old victim in 2025. She told police that she was facing “other legal penalties” and was afraid of losing custody of her baby. Scott-Franklin said she suffered from several mental illnesses and claimed to hear voices.
Scott-Franklin allegedly admitted to searching “suffocation” online.
Scott-Franklin was charged with first-degree premeditated homicide and booked into the Alachua County Jail. She was scheduled for a bond hearing on Thursday.
