close
close

A South MS mother was arrested on child molestation charges after a suicide pact with her daughter failed, police said

A Mississippi mother arrested on child molestation charges gave her 10-year-old daughter pills to take as part of a suicide pact the mother made with her daughter, Ocean Springs Police Chief Ryan Lemaire said.

Authorities in Huntsville, Alabama, arrested Brittney Leigh Hensley, 37, on a felony warrant issued in Ocean Springs in September, two months after the July crime, the police chief said.

Hensley fled the area shortly after police responded in July to a report of a medical emergency at the extended-stay motel Studio 6, where the mother and child had been living, Lemaire said.

“She had a suicide pact with her daughter and the daughter took the pills, but she (Hensley) didn't,” Lemaire said. “So the mom started freaking out when her daughter wouldn’t wake up.”

Paramedics took the child to a local hospital for treatment. When the child regained consciousness, Lemaire told police about the suicide pact her mother had made with her. However, the mother did not try to take her own life.

Hensley fled the area before she was scheduled to meet with police investigators and child protective services officials regarding the criminal charges.

Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers police issued a warning to be on the lookout for Hensley after she fled the state. Police suspected she may have flown to Alabama because of Hensley's relatives.

Alabama authorities arrested Hensley on Oct. 15 and she was later extradited to Mississippi to face charges here.

On Tuesday, Hensley was booked into the Jackson County Jail. She is being held on a $500,000 bond.