CLEVELAND — A 27-year-old woman will spend the next decade and a half behind bars for trying to drown her 6-year-old son in a bathtub.
According to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, a judge sentenced Dazshea Watkins, of Cleveland, to 14 to 16-and-a-half-years in prison for the attack.
Watkins pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- One count of attempted murder
- One count of kidnapping
- Two counts of endangering children
- One count of domestic violence
- One count of felonious assault
- One count of pandering obscenity involving a minor
“This mother committed unspeakable crimes against her own child,” said prosecutor Michael O’Malley. “She has earned every day of her sentence.”
It happened on Aug. 28, 2019. Authorities say Watkins tried to drown the boy because the boy’s father upset her. She filmed the attack and sent the father the video.
Authorities say Watkins held her son "underwater by his neck and yelled obscenities at him as he struggled and gasped for air.”
Afterwards, Watkins took the child into a bedroom and then tried to smother him with a pillow.
The mother was reported to the Cuyahoga County Department of Child and Family Services and later admitted to the attack. Police arrested the mother on Sept. 4, 2019, authorities said.
After spending 14 years in prison, authorities say that Watkins' case will be reviewed to determine if she is eligible for release.
RELATED: Woman accused of sending video of her trying to drown 6-year-old son in bathtub to child's father
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
