Police say a southern MS mom arrested for child abuse after a failed suicide pact with her daughter

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

Authorities in Huntsville, Alabama arrested Brittney Leigh Hensley37, 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 received a report of a medical emergency at an extended-stay motel in July. Studio 6where the mother and child lived, Lemaire said.

“She made a suicide pact with her daughter and the daughter took the pills, but she (Hensley) didn’t do it,” 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. Lemaire added that when the child regained consciousness, she told the 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.

Measures were issued to stop crime on the Mississippi Coast alert to search for Hensley after she fled the state. Police suspect she may have traveled to Alabama due to Hensley’s relatives being there.

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

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