'The child was screaming': 4-year-old struggled as mother tossed her into Florida river

For Florida police officers, the calls were almost too insane to be true.

Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan thought witnesses – who watched in horror as a mother dragged her screaming 4-year-old daughter into the murky waters of the Hillsborough River on Thursday – were mistaken.

"It is tragic, chaotic and just downright unbelievable all at the same time," Dugan said at a Friday news conference.

Dugan provided new details about the bizarre incident that led to the death of Je'Hyrah Daniels, including the girl's struggle as she drowned in broad daylight. Her mother, Shakayla Denson, is facing a number of charges, including first-degree felony murder.

Police say it all started at 3:09 p.m. Thursday when Denson stole a Nissan Altima from a car lot in Tampa. She "forcefully" pushed Je'Hyrah into the back seat and drove away, Dugan said.

A witness, who watched the theft, tried to stop Benson but was slightly struck as she sped off, he added.

At around 4 p.m. calls started coming into police from witnesses who saw the mother park near the river then drag the girl by her arms from the car into the water.

"The child was screaming," Dugan said.

Witnesses watched Denson, who also was screaming, clutch her daughter close to her chest and wade deeper and deeper into the river. Soon, the water reached Denson's shoulders.

That's when she shrugged off the child and swam back to shore, leaving the girl to drown.

Some witnesses said they could see the girl's hands above the water – then they disappeared.

Vicki Walker, who says she noticed Denson in the water, told The Tampa Bay Times the woman started to cry once she made it to shore. At the time, Walker didn't know what had just happened.

"My brain knows I couldn’t have done anything but my heart aches knowing a child died right there and I watched her mother walk away from it," she told the Times.

The big question police have not been able to answer: Why?

"Obviously this is a tragedy that we're going to have to figure out what her mindset was that took her and put her into a place where she would leave a 4-year-old and leave her to drown," Dugan said.

Denson was arrested shortly after the incident. She was found walking near the river.

Dugan said it's unclear whether Denson was under the influence, had any documented mental illness or was simply overwhelmed in some way, adding right now, there are "more questions than answers."

A child protective services report obtained by The Tampa Bay Times details a June investigation into Benson and her daughter, who the report notes was a special needs child.

The report says someone accused Benson of being overwhelmed by the challenges of raising the child as a single mother and would pay little attention to Je'Hyrah, allowing her to wander off without supervision.

Investigators concluded the girl was "happy, healthy and active" but non-verbal. Benson told investigators her daughter was in elementary school and she was trying to get her into therapy and enrollment in an autism center.

Dugan said those who watched the episode unfold felt a "sense of helplessness"  and "frustration" as they called authorities. Officers who responded tried to go into the dark, murky water, but it wasn't until a police dive team arrived that the girl was found.

A diver pulled her "lifeless" body from the river. She was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Dugan said he asked the diver how old he thought the girl was, to which the diver told him: the same age as my child.

Dugan said an incident like this is one that "tends to affect us all."

Cox Media Group