The mother of a baby beaten to death and left to rot after her little body was stuffed in a dresser drawer is set to testify against her ex-boyfriend, who is charged with the girl’s murder in the unspeakable killing, according to authorities and reports.
Madison Marshall, the 24-year-old mother of the 1-year-old baby, is scheduled to testify against her ex-boyfriend, Roan Waters, 27, for allegedly beating Oaklee Snow to death in 2023 as part of a plea deal.
Marshall pleaded guilty to one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death and one count of neglect of a dependent on Thursday, according to court documents obtained by Fox 23. She faces 25 years for the first charge and two years for the second and will serve the sentences concurrently if she goes through with the terms of the plea deal with the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
The young mom previously confessed to cops that she helped Waters — who is not the father of the girl — dispose of her daughter’s body after he allegedly killed the tot and stopped Marshall from calling 911, according to court records.
Marshall is expected to testify that on Feb. 9, 2023, she was in the kitchen when she heard Waters scream at Oaklee, demanding that she bounce on her bouncy ball, according to the court docs.
About ten minutes later, Waters shouted for his girlfriend.
Marshall told investigators that she saw Waters in the hallway holding a limp Oaklee, according to records. The mom took her daughter to the bathtub and splashed cold water in her face. When she tried to call 911, she said Waters smacked the phone out of her hand, according to records.
Waters then wrapped Oaklee’s lifeless body in a blanket and loaded her into his SUV. The couple then dropped her body off at an abandoned house, stuffing the tot into a drawer, according to records.
Police and the FBI looked for Oaklee, but had no luck. Investigators discovered the girl’s remains only after having Marshall retrace her steps that night. She eventually recognized the abandoned building in Morgan, about an hour south of Indianapolis, according to records.
The discovery of Oaklee’s badly decomposed body brought an end to a short life of alleged repeated beatings and neglect, court papers show.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said little Oaklee was subjected to frequent abuse and that the alleged beating that led to her death was not an isolated incident.
“Her time on this earth was very much defined by adults abusing her and the allegation here is that abuse eventually led to her death,” Mears told CBS 4 Indy.
The month before the baby was killed, Marshall allegedly removed her and her 7-month-old son from their father’s home without his consent, according to court docs.
In the plea agreement filed with Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, Marshall must give “full and truthful testimony at trial on behalf of the State against co-defendant Roan Waters.” If she does not testify against Waters, the prosecutors will scrap the deal and she will go to trial for her original charges, Fox 23 reported.
The trial was originally slated for May 9, but was pushed back to June 9 so Waters’ defense lawyers could depose Marshall.
