Aunt in charge of 3-month-old baby was asleep when mother killed baby (2024)

A mother accused of decapitating her three-month-old daughter had been ordered by a court to stay away from her - but an aunt who had custody of the child had allowed her to move in with them.

Deasia Watkins, 20, was charged with aggravated murder on Monday after her baby daughter, Janiyah, was found beheaded on a kitchen counter at the aunt's house in Hamilton County, Ohio.

The mother, who was diagnosed with post-partum depression earlier this year, had allegedly placed the kitchen knife in the baby's hand after murdering her, authorities said.

Her aunt was asleep at the time but a child at the home found the baby's body and raised the alarm.

The horrific killing came after Watkins had been forbidden to have contact with the child after she was hospitalized for psychiatric problems, authorities said at a Tuesday press conference.

But the aunt had apparently let Watkins move in with her and the baby about a week earlier, Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters said.

Then on Monday, a five-year-old child who was at the house to catch a school bus found the baby's body and ran outside to tell a male relative. The man woke up the aunt and she called police.

In the 911 call, the aunt can be heard crying hysterically and asking for help while repeating, 'Oh, my God!'

'My niece killed her baby,' she said.

She told the dispatcher that she was asleep when her son, who had come to drop off the children, came in and woke her up, saying the baby was dead.

The son then told the dispatcher that he had seen the baby's body on the kitchen counter but did not know what happened.

'It's a very violent scene,' he said.

Police arrived to find the baby had been decapitated and stabbed multiple times. She had also suffered a fractured arm.

Authorities also found the 20-year-old mother in bed covered with blood and took her into custody.

'This is one of the most disturbing cases I have ever seen in my life,' Deters said.

Officers allegedly that Watkins smelled of marijuana and refused to hand over the baby. When they took her daughter she 'passed out with her eyes open', according toCincinnati.com.

She was taken to hospital for evaluation. She has been charged with aggravated murder but Deters said it was unlikely prosecutors would seek the death penalty.

'It was pretty clear to the officers involved that she is suffering from some serious mental issues,' Deters said.

Watkins gave birth to her daughter in December and suffered post-partum depression.

A cousin toldCincinnati.comthat he had spoken to the child's father, who claimed the new mom had been 'acting crazy... speaking of demons'.

On January 25, police reportedly went to her apartment to find the baby crying and the young mother screaming.

Then on March 6, a juvenile court judge ordered Hamilton County Job and Family Services to take custody of the baby after the young mom was hospitalized for psychiatric problems.

It came after theHamilton County Prosecutor's Office filed a complaint that the baby girl had been neglected,WCPO reported.

Deters said at the press conference on Tuesday that family services had done their jobs. HCJFS declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Online.

'It looks like JFS did their job exactly how they should, but you don't have the resources to be in the house 24/7,' Deters said.

WCPO reported that Watkin's only previous brush with the law was a fine for disorderly conduct.