Muncie woman charged with murder in Texas child's drowning death
MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie woman has been charged with murder in the drowning death of a 4-year-old girl in Houston.
According to court documents filed in Harris County, Texas, the child's death took place on Sept. 9, 2023, after Nakia Nash Nicole Martin, now 39, said she was baptizing the girl in a bathtub.
Other children in the house said Martin — who was babysitting them — held the girl under the water until she stopped moving.
The Muncie woman — a former employee of Muncie Community Schools — didn't call 911 dispatchers until the following day, according to an affidavit.
She later reportedly told police she "didn't mean to kill this baby."
The murder count filed by officials in the Harris County district attorney's office would allow prosecutors to request a sentence of life imprisonment without parole — or a death sentence — should Martin be convicted.
The murder count was filed against Martin in December. She is being held in the Harris County Jail in Houston under a $2 million bond.
The Muncie woman — formerly of Gary and Indianapolis — was reportedly a cousin of the dead child's mother.
The victim's mother told an investigator with the Harris County Sheriff's Department she "had a close relationship with Nakia and arranged for her to watch the children while she was out of town."
She said Martin was "sounding strange" in a FaceTime call on the day of her child's death. The mother said that call "was the last time she saw her daughter alive."
In January, Martin was charged in Muncie City Court with criminal trespass, a misdemeanor, over an incident that allegedly took place on Nov. 11.
She was arrested in Muncie on the Texas charge on Dec. 10 and reportedly waived extradition.
Martin was a "full-time permanent building substitute" at Longfellow Elementary School from August 2016 until September 2022, according to Andy Klotz, chief communication officer for Muncie Community Schools.
Martin "resigned to accept other employment," Klotz said.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie woman charged with murder in child's drowning death
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