TAMPA, Fla. — A Hillsborough County mother who authorities say tried to drown her three young children in a community pool after tying them to herself with a rope will remain jailed as prosecutors push for pretrial detention.
On Thursday, 24-year-old Shaniece Willingham made her first court appearance in the case. She is accused of trying to drown her children (ages 3 years, 2 years and 8 months) at a community pool, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
Watch full report from Jada Williams
Shortly after 1 a.m. on Sept. 24, deputies responded to a call at a community pool on Sacramento Street in Valrico. Deputies said they found Willingham on the pool deck after family members had already rescued the children from drowning.
Willingham, 24, is charged with three counts of attempted first-degree premeditated murder following the Sept. 24 incident in Valrico, according to court records.
An amended motion for pretrial detention filed Thursday states Willingham loaded her children — ages 3, 2 and 8 months — into a wagon and walked them to the neighborhood pool after a heated argument with her mother and the children’s father. Prosecutors said she posted a live video to Instagram calling it her “last goodbye,” telling viewers she loved her children but “could not leave them behind because no one can take care of them, and they would be safe with God”.
According to the filing, Willingham lifted the children over the locked pool fence, tied them together with rope taken from a poolside life-saving ring, and FaceTimed her mother to say she loved her.
According to the HCSO, family members then rushed to the pool. They saw Willingham throw the children into the water before jumping in herself, holding the children underwater, according to the HCSO.
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue responded and found the children showed no signs of significant injuries, according to HCSO.
During a post-Miranda interview, Willingham admitted she wanted to kill herself and her children together, according to the motion. Prosecutors argued that “no conditions of release or bail will reasonably protect the community from risk of physical harm”.
Court records show this is not Willingham’s first run-in with law enforcement. In October 2024, she was arrested on a domestic violence charge after deputies said she stabbed the father of her children, Theophilus Williams, three times in the back with a fork during an argument at their Tampa apartment. Williams suffered puncture wounds and scratches, according to the arrest affidavit. At the time, the couple had been living together for three months, and Willingham was seven months pregnant with their child.
On Sept. 25, the judge found probable cause to charge Shaniece Willingham with three counts of attempted first-degree murder, with a life sentence if convicted.
Willingham did not appear in person or virtually at her first appearance on Thursday, but Judge J. Logan Murphy reviewed the charges against her.
“I’ll find probable cause for three counts of attempted first-degree murder, a life felony,” the judge said.
For now, she will remain behind bars. A pretrial detention hearing is now set for Monday, September 29th at 9:00 A.M.
“She’ll be held at no bond until we can have that hearing,” Judge Murphy added.
In a separate hearing later that day, Willingham appeared virtually for a shelter hearing, a proceeding to determine where her children would live while the case proceeds.
“The children are [in] licensed foster care, and the children will remain in that placement pending any further orders from the court,” the Judge Darryl Manning said.
The investigation is ongoing.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm, call 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or dial 211 to connect with local support services. Help is available.
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