An Indiana woman has been charged with drowning her cousin’s 4-year-old daughter while babysitting more than a year ago.

Nakia Martin, 39, was arrested in December and extradited to Texas, where the drowning took place on September 8, 2023, WISH reported.

Courtney Fischer, Harris County District Attorney’s Office chief of communications, said told the station the delay was because of investigators conducting interviews and waiting for an autopsy report.

A probable cause affidavit said that Martin, from Muncie, Indiana, was in Texas babysitting her cousin’s children while the cousin was in Indiana. She called police on September 9 and said she had found the little girl in bed that morning, cold to the touch and foaming at the mouth.

But two of the girl’s siblings told police that Martin had rubbed “blessing oil” on their necks and took them to a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom, where she tried to drown them and threatened them “with hell” if they told.

Martin Probable Cause by kc wildmoon on Scribd

The children saw Martin hold the 4-year-old under water while she struggled and pulled on her babysitter’s hair. The children were not interviewed until June 2024.

The children’s mother told investigators that she had FaceTimed with Martin the night before and that she was “acting strangely and ranting about God,” the document says. She said that was the last time she saw the little girl alive.

After the 4-year-old died in the tub, Martin allegedly put lotion on her and put her to bed. Hours later, she called a family member and then 911.

Martin was brought back to Texas on December 30, but the district attorney’s office hadn’t spoken about it until this week. Martin’s next court hearing is March 20, and prosecutors say they’ll seek a $2 million bond at that time.

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[Featured image: Nakia Martin/Harris County Sheriff’s Office]