Indiana woman accused of drowning grandson in tub told police 4-year-old would 'be better off in heaven': Court docs

KOKOMO, Ind. (WXIN) -- A 56-year-old Kokomo woman told police she drowned her 4-year-old grandson because he'd “be better off in heaven.”

Helen Martin faces charges of murder and neglect of a dependent in connection with the case.

Police arrested Martin on March 28. Officers had been called to the home after the 4-year-old was unresponsive and unconscious. He later died at a hospital.

Martin said while giving the boy a bath, she climbed into the tub, still clothed, and pushed the boy's head under the water and held it there until he drowned, according to court documents. She then got out of the tub, changed into some dry clothes and put her wet clothes in the hamper.

Her husband returned and pulled the boy out of the water. Martin's husband told her she'd called to tell him about the drowning; Martin told investigators she didn't remember making that call.

The 56-year-old said she had been “so depressed recently” that the boy would “be better off in heaven than to be with her,” court documents said.