A Maryland therapist has been charged with first-degree murder in the drowning death of her 3-month-old daughter. Mackenzie Rose Colgan, 37, was charged by police after being called to the Montgomery County home.
Colgan's daughter was found unresponsive in an upstairs bathroom on Dec. 8. The baby was transported to a hospital where life-saving measures were attempted, but the infant was ultimately pronounced dead, police stated.
The incident began about 11:40 a.m. when Colgan told family members she was going to give the infant a bath. At about noon, Colgan came down the stairs of the home and said the infant had drowned, prompting her husband to race upstairs and attempt CPR on the baby. He also told Colgan to call 911, Crime Online reported.
Police took Colgan to the station, and after being advised of her rights, she told officers that she had planned to "end everything." Crime Online reported that Colgan told officers she had planned to kill both of her children and her husband.
In an affidavit, Colgan told police that she had filled a baby bath with water and placed it into a larger tub.
"She then said that she turned the baby to face away from her and held the victim's head under the water until she knew the victim was dead," the affidavit states, according to Crime Online.
The affidavit also states, according to Crime Online, that Colgan considered jumping out of her bedroom window, but decided not to after she stepped on the ledge. She told police that she instead decided to go downstairs and tell her husband what had happened.
A Montgomery County judge has ordered that Colgan undergo a mental health evaluation to determine her competence, NBC 4 reported.
DC News Now reported that Colgan worked as a therapist at Ivymount for five years. The non-profit organization "provides trusted education, therapeutic, and professional services and products that invest in the abilities of neurodivergent children and young adults," its website states.
