Woman whose 1-year-old daughter was found dead, decomposed in dresser pleads guilty

MORGAN COUNTY, Ind. (TCN) -- A 22-year-old woman pleaded guilty to two charges nearly three years after her toddler daughter was found dead and "badly decomposed" in a dresser drawer.

Court records show the plea deal for neglect of a dependent resulting in death and neglect of a dependent that places dependent in situation that endangers the dependent was filed April 25, and Madison Marshall entered the plea Thursday, May 1. Her trial was scheduled to begin May 9. As a result, prosecutors dropped several other charges of neglect of a dependent and assisting a criminal. WXIN-TV reports prosecutors are seeking a minimum of 25 years in prison.

Marshall, however, must testify against her boyfriend, Roan Waters, during his trial for murder, neglect of a dependent, and other charges related to the death of her daughter, Oaklee Snow. Waters will head to trial June 9.

According to Marshall’s probable cause affidavit, Snow’s father reported her missing to the Seminole County, Oklahoma, Sheriff’s Office in January 2023, saying Marshall took Snow and her brother, identified as C.S., from his house and went to Indiana to be near Waters' family.

Police arrested Waters in Colorado for an outstanding warrant in March 2023, and he told them that he and Marshall took the kids and stayed in a "trap house" in Indiana so he and Marshall could do drugs. Waters and Marshall allegedly "made the decision to abandon C.S. at the 'trap house' and had also left Oaklee behind in Indiana before traveling to Colorado." Waters did not share details about the children’s location.

Before Waters and Marshall traveled to Colorado, Waters' sister reportedly picked up C.S. from the house and turned him over to the Department of Child Services. The sister reportedly told authorities that Marshall claimed she "had voluntarily chosen to 'give up' Oaklee in Indianapolis." A neighbor said that around the time Snow was last seen alive, he saw Waters and Marshall "leaving the house with what looked like a child wrapped in a blanket," and the "child did not appear to be moving, talking, or crying."

Marshall reportedly claimed her daughter was in the hospital, but Waters' sister contacted all hospitals in the area and none of them listed Snow as a patient.

On March 23, 2023, law enforcement caught up with Marshall in North Carolina to arrest her for neglect of a dependent. While speaking with detectives, she said that Feb. 9, 2023, Waters walked into the kitchen holding Snow and said she was not responsive. He claimed he put her in a cold bath to revive her, but she did not wake up. He allegedly said he was taking her to the hospital, but as Marshall went to call 911, he "struck her hard enough to knock the phone out of her hands." Waters came back an hour and a half later with the blanket he wrapped Snow in and allegedly "stated that he left her naked body in the woods" near his grandparents' house.

In a follow-up interview with detectives, Marshall admitted to driving with Waters to dispose of her daughter’s body at an abandoned house. Waters allegedly took Snow’s body into the house, then told Marshall he "put her inside or underneath a dresser." Marshall also told investigators that Waters abused Snow and even “choked her out” for holding a fork incorrectly or "other behavior common of a toddler."

According to the affidavit, on Feb. 9, 2023, Snow started crying and Waters "threw" her onto the ground because "her crying had agitated him." He later allegedly yelled at her to get on her bouncy ball. Not long after that, Waters ran in with an unresponsive Snow in his arms.

Detectives searched the abandoned home, which was "extensively cluttered with trash and debris and was difficult to walk through." While in the living room area, one of the detectives smelled the odor of a decomposing body coming from a dresser. They obtained a warrant and discovered Snow’s remains in the bottom drawer. The coroner determined her "left leg was clearly broken at the knee." The Morgan County Coroner later listed her cause of death as homicide by "unspecified means."

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced on April 26, 2023, that the two would be charged in connection with her death.

Prosecutor Ryan Mears said at the time, "As parents we have a duty to protect our children. Not only did these two individuals fail to live up to that responsibility, but the allegations in the probable cause affidavit indicate that Oaklee suffered a horrific death and an abandonment that diminished the dignity that any child deserves."

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