Decatur Police working to reduce drunk driving during Super Bowl
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DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — The Decatur Police Department arrested a woman on Sunday after police said she called them and reported that she attempted to drown her seven-month-old baby.

According to police documents, 20-year-old Valissa Thornell called the police department and told them that she was trying to kill herself and her baby. When police arrived, Thornell was standing outside of her apartment with her baby.

Police said that officers brought the child to the medical professionals on the scene.

“While officers held the child, water was coming out of his mouth, while the child was gurgling,” a sworn statement from the Decatur Police Department reads.

Police interviewed Thornell. She told them that she decided to drown her child in the bathtub and then stab herself in the wrist. She also told police that she ran the water in the tub, put the child in and observed him floating.

Then, police said that Thornell told them she “forcibly” pushed her son toward the bottom of the tub. Thornell told police his eyes got big and he gasped from the water, and she then picked him up. Thornell then put the baby back in the tub face-up and walked away for two minutes.

When she came back, the baby was face down and kicking in an attempt to float. When Thornell picked the baby up, he was blue and “heavy” due to the water, she told police.

While at the apartment, police saw water in the tub and water spots all over the bathroom floor. According to police documents, there was 1-2 inches of water sitting in the tub. Thornell had told officers that there was 1-2 inches of water above the child while she attempted to drown them. Police added that there were no other witnesses to this incident.

Thornell appeared in court on Monday. She has been charged with attempted murder, and two counts of aggravated battery to a child. Thornell was denied pretrial release and is being held in the Macon County Jail, pending trial. A preliminary hearing has been set for April 2.

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