UPDATED: Woman on probation arrested for drowning her 7-month-old daughter

Staff report

Updated at 9:15 p.m. on Jan. 14 with information from the arrest report.

Updated on Jan. 15 with information from Scott-Franklin’s First Appearance hearing.

Updated on Feb. 4 with pre-trial detention information.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Tierra A. Scott-Franklin, 23, was arrested today after she reportedly called 911 and said she drowned her baby.

According to a Gainesville Police Department spokesman, officers responded to an apartment at Sweetwater Square (3101 NE 15th Street) at about 12:47 p.m. on January 14 and found an unresponsive female infant; although efforts were made to revive the infant, she was pronounced deceased at UF Health Shands.

Scott-Franklin was transported to GPD Headquarters, and post Miranda, she reportedly admitted to placing the infant on her back in a bathtub that was half-filled with water. She said she left the bathroom, closed the door, and expected the victim to “go.”

She reportedly said that she returned to the bathroom about five minutes later and removed the baby from the bathtub. She said the baby was unresponsive, and there was a white substance coming from her nose and mouth. She said she performed some chest compressions on the baby, but she stopped after she saw liquid coming out of the baby’s mouth.

Scott-Franklin reportedly said, “If I can’t have my baby, no one can… I’m sorry, but I don’t regret it.” She said she was facing “other legal penalties” and was afraid she would lose custody of the baby. She said she had previously researched “suffocation” and also said she has been diagnosed with multiple mental illnesses and hears voices.

Scott-Franklin has been charged with first-degree homicide and violating probation. She has two felony convictions (one violent) and one misdemeanor conviction (non-violent), and she has an unspecified out-of-state criminal history between 2018 and 2024. She is on probation for battery on a person over 65 and escape, and she has three active warrants out of Georgia and Minnesota.

Scott-Franklin was arrested in August 2025 for battering a 67-year-old victim and resisting an officer without violence. After being placed in a patrol vehicle, she slipped out of her handcuffs and escaped, leaving her newborn baby with police officers, but she was quickly apprehended. In December 2025, she entered a plea of nolo contendere to the charges, and Judge Denise Ferrero sentenced her to five years of probation, with a requirement for a mental health evaluation.

Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered her held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold her without bail until trial. On January 29, Judge Robert Groeb granted the motion and ordered that she be held without bail until trial.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.