Mom ‘smothered baby to death’ then raised thousands of dollars in funeral donations
A mother who raised thousands of dollars for her ten-month-old son’s funeral has confessed to smothering her baby, police said.
Victoria Jackson, 24, was arrested for first-degree murder on Friday in Clearwater, Florida after she reportedly admitted to killing her son, Malachi Jackson, in May.
Jackson called 911 on May 24 and told police that her son was unresponsive in her crib. He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
In the wake of Malachi’s death, Jackson set up a GoFundMe page, writing: ‘I want to give my son the best memorial service I can. He died last Friday night.’
‘I’ve never been so heart broken in my life. Please help me take care of my baby one last time.’
Jackson ended up raising more than $4,000 from donors on the page, which was taken down Saturday after news of the charges against Jackson spread.
Authorities say Jackson was originally not considered a suspect in the months after Malachi’s death, but she allegedly recently confided in a friend that she killed her son, according to an arrest report obtained by People.
Arsene Wenger gives encouragement to Bayern Munich over manager job
The friend, who is not named, told police about Jackson’s confession. Investigators then conducted a controlled phone call with Jackson.
Jackson reported made incriminating statements while talking with police and admitted to suffocating Malachi with a pillow while he slept, police said.
Marah Gonzales, who went to high school with Jackson, told ABC: ‘Tragedy is a time where you need to be the most compassionate and loving and kind and she totally just took advantage of that.’
‘It was just kind of so manipulative to the point she was consistently reaching out and consistently like please donate to this, and this, but with very very little details.’