TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa woman has been charged with murder for strangling her 18-year-old daughter to death, according to the Tampa Police Department.
Police said they received a call from 18-year-old Natavia Sanders in the early hours of May 11. She reportedly told them she "just woke up from being passed out" after her mother strangled her.
The call was then disconnected.
Officers responded to the home on E 23rd Avenue and N 19th Street as dispatchers worked to reconnect the call.
Once at the home, police met 38-year-old Rotesha Silveus, who reportedly refused to cooperate.
"After a brief struggle, officers were able to detain her and locate Natavia, unresponsive, inside the home," the police department wrote.
Officers began conducting CPR on Sanders until Tampa Fire Rescue arrived to transport her to a nearby hospital in critical condition. She died two days later on May 13.
Silveus was arrested and initially charged with resisting an officer with violence and aggravated battery with great bodily harm. A first-degree murder charge was added once her daughter died at the hospital.
The medical examiner's office ruled Sanders' death a homicide, noting that her injuries were consistent with strangulation.
Silveus remains at the Orient Road Jail.