‘Could Not Take It Anymore’: Florida Mother Facing Attempted Murder Charges for Trying to Drown Her Three Small Kids Shakes and Sheds Tears In Court, Video Shows

A Florida mother accused of trying to drown herself and her three young children wiped away tears and appeared shaken as she sat handcuffed before the judge at a trial-setting hearing on May 19. 

Shaniece Willingham of Valrico, who allegedly used a rope to tie herself and her children together before jumping into a community pool, said she struggled with mental health and had suicidal thoughts at the time of the incident last September, according to post-Miranda interviews and her own Instagram livestream of the event, obtained by local station WFLA 8.

“I’mma go to hell,” she reportedly said last fall, sobbing, “I tried every way, God.”

None of her children — ages 3, 2, and 8 months old — knew how to swim, but they miraculously survived without major injuries thanks to family members who intervened in the nick of time.

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Following an argument with the children’s father, Willingham loaded her children into a wagon and pulled them to the community pool. As she was doing this, she livestreamed herself on Instagram — an action that saved the children’s lives.

According to court documents obtained by the outlet, she spoke into the camera, saying this was “her last goodbye, and she could not take it anymore,” and went on to say that “she loved her kids so much, but she could not leave them behind because no one can take care of them, and they would be safe with God.”

Prosecutors claimed she was upset that the children’s father refused to pick her and the children up earlier that day and bring them home. Prosecutors also said Willingham FaceTimed her mother to tell her she loved her, then turned the camera around to show her the pool.

Luckily, people who saw her videos jumped into action. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said family members who watched the livestream rushed to the pool. But when Willingham saw their white van approaching, she shoved her kids into the deep end.

Three people quickly exited the van and leaped over a fence surrounding the pool to rescue the family.

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A pretrial detention motion obtained by the outlet stated. “During a post-Miranda interview with the defendant, she admitted to wanting to end her life and kill her children at the same time,” and added that “The defendant admitted to using the rope that had been attached to a ‘Life ring’ (life-saving flotation device in the pool area) to tie her and her children to her so they could all drown together.”

After her arrest on Sept. 24, 2025, she was charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder. She is being held without bond at the Hillsborough County, Florida, Jail, and this week her trial was moved to Oct. 19.