California Mother Allegedly Attempts to Drown 4-Year-Old Son, Pleads Not Guilty

A California woman pleaded not guilty after being arrested Monday for allegedly attempting to drown her four-year-old son in an irrigation canal in Yuba County.

Taylor Delanie Green, 31, faces “attempted murder premeditated, resisting arrest/threatening an officer, attempt to remove/take a firearm from a peace officer, and driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs,” per court documents obtained by Yahoo.

Around 6:30 p.m. Monday, CHP learned that a 2005 white Dodge Caravan was blocking the rural road of Woodruff Lane in Marysville, according to the Sacramento Bee. The responding officer heard screams about 100 yards to the west and saw the Green in weeds next to an irrigation canal.

CHP indicated that the woman was “extremely combative,” “acting irrationally,” and seemed to be under the influence of drugs, the Sacramento Bee reports. The release states that while the officer approached Green, he observed her submerging the little boy in the canal, “smothering him in the muddy embankment.”

Authorities say the officer attempted to reach for the child, at which point Green submerged herself and the child in five feet of water, according to KCRC. The officer then entered the water and freed the four-year-old from her grasp.

CHP stated in the release that as the officer attempted to climb back up the embankment, Green tried to pull both the officer and child back into the water, according to the Sacramento Bee. The officer struggled with Green for multiple minutes while keeping the child secure in his other hand, the release stated.

“While she continued to violently resist” she attempted several times to secure the CHP officer’s gun before he handed the child to a Yuba County Sheriff’s Sergeant who had just arrived on the scene, the Sacramento Bee reports, citing the release.

The outlet reports Green and the officer continued to struggle until more CHP officers, sheriff’s deputies, and Marysville Police arrived on the scene and apprehended the subject, per the release.

Jail records obtained by the Sacramento Bee indicate Green was processed at the Yuba County Jail and her bail was set at $500,000.

On Thursday, Green appeared in Yuba County Superior Court and entered a not guilty plea on all counts. Yuba County District Attorney Clinton Curry said Green faces life in prison if convicted on all counts.