A woman has been charged with manslaughter after police found her 3-year-old daughter and the family dog dead inside a locked car in Maine. Authorities say the mother, Kelly Brown, claimed she had fallen into a river while taking out trash.
The Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office (PSCO) found Brown’s car outside a business in Milford, Maine, on the evening of Aug. 9, according to Maine State Police (MSP). Inside, officers discovered her daughter dead. Brown, 40, from Pennsylvania, was found nearby.
Brown was arrested and booked into the Penobscot County Jail around 5 a.m. the next morning. On Aug. 11, during a court hearing at Penobscot Judicial Center, she was officially charged with manslaughter.
According to court documents obtained by WABI, WCHS, and Boston.com, Brown told police she left her daughter in the car while she was cleaning up trash. She claimed she slipped into the Penobscot River and was “swept away.”
A spokesperson for MSP did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for confirmation on Aug. 17. Attorney information for Brown was also not available.
Court records say Brown parked her car in a Milford Freshies parking lot around 2 a.m. on Aug. 9 with her daughter and their dog inside. She briefly returned at 6 a.m. but did not come back until police and EMS arrived about 14 hours later, according to WABI.
Brown, her daughter Fiona, and their 13-year-old dog Penelope had left Pennsylvania on July 30 for a family visit to Maine. According to Boston.com, Brown’s mother said she had been “hallucinating” and posting disturbing videos on Facebook since late July.
The family had been camping at rest stops during their trip. Brown told police she wanted to teach her daughter about keeping nature clean. She claimed both Fiona and the dog were alive when she last left them in the car. She also repeated that she slipped into the river and struggled to stay above water, according to Boston.com.
Police later found Fiona’s body lying face down on the driver’s side seat, with the dog’s head resting on her foot, Boston.com reported.
Brown’s family had contacted police earlier, saying she was acting strangely and claimed to be seeing spirits, WABI reported.
According to the affidavit obtained by Boston.com, Brown screamed when told about the deaths. Police also noted she had scratches and bruises, but surveillance footage contradicted her story of falling into the river. Officers added her clothing was not wet when she returned to the car.
The affidavit stated: “Kelly Brown’s alternative explanation for abandoning her daughter and dog in the locked closed car on a hot August day contradicts the surveillance video and observations of the law enforcement officers when she appeared on the scene and was later interviewed.”
A judge set Brown’s bail at $50,000, according to WABI and WCHS.
The Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta determined Fiona’s likely cause of death was heat exposure from being left in the hot car for hours, WCHS reported.
Attorneys and the judge agreed to meet again on Sept. 26, when Brown’s case will be presented to a grand jury, WCHS said.
