In a troubling case out of Ohio, a mother is accused of intentionally suffocating her young daughter with a plastic bag, as she allegedly confessed to authorities.

Sharon Sakoulos, age 41, now faces charges of murder and is in custody at the James A. Karnes Correctional Center. The charges stem from the death of her 3-year-old daughter, Cassidy. During a court session covered by ABC affiliate WSYX, prosecutors revealed that Sakoulos admitted to the act, which reportedly occurred in their Columbus home last Wednesday.

According to court documents accessed by CBS affiliate WBNS, police were dispatched to Sakoulos’ residence at 5:35 p.m. on Wednesday following reports of a child not breathing. Arriving officers from the Columbus Division of Police discovered Cassidy unresponsive and with noticeable bruising. She was promptly transported to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where she was declared dead shortly after 6 p.m.

Neighbors who spoke with WSYX described seeing Sakoulos when emergency responders arrived. They characterized her behavior as having “weird energy” and noted she often overstayed her welcome and seemed inattentive to her child.

One neighbor recounted to WSYX, “She frequently asked us to watch her baby. When the ambulance arrived, she stood there smoking a cigarette, which struck us as odd, especially given her lack of reaction to the situation.”

Police said Sakoulos admitted to killing her daughter, saying she placed a plastic bag over the girl’s head until she stopped moving. According to court records, she told police she intended to kill her daughter.

During Sakoulos’ arraignment on Friday, prosecutors provided more details about the defendant’s history of erratic behavior and mental illness. Prosecutors said that in 2023, Sakoulos pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer by “[throwing] and [shaking] a container of AJAX cleaning substance” at the officer in 2020. In 2022, she was deemed incompetent to stand trial and spent some time being treated at the Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare Hospital.

Sakoulos was also accused of assaulting police officers in a 2016 case. The outcome of that case was not specified.

Prosecutors said that Sakoulos had a history of bipolar disorder and had been hospitalized for mental illness. Sakoulos’ public defender said her client was a military veteran who was honorably discharged.

Sakoulos was charged with murder. At Friday’s arraignment, Sakoulos’ bond was set at $2 million. She is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 9.