The mother of a missing Florida girl was transferred to jail on Thursday, following a suicide attempt earlier this month, online jail records confirm.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department, Brianna Williams, the mother of 5-year-old Taylor Williams, is listed as an inmate in the Duvall County jail. She’s facing two felony child neglect charges, along with a charge of lying to police.
Williams was charged after she provided police with “numerous false statements” after reporting her child missing. Her bond has been at $1 million.
Police said Williams attempted to take her own life after learning child remains were found near her hometown of Demopolis, Alabama. Although the remains have not yet been officially identified, authorities believe that the remains are of Taylor.
Police sources previously told First Coast News that the remains found were severely decomposed. A coroner must first determine the cause and manner of death prior to an autopsy, per Alabama law. An autopsy is then scheduled if the coroner confirms foul play was involved.
Officials haven’t yet announced a cause and manner of death, but the remains were sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy on Friday. Officials are also working to obtain a DNA analysis on the remains, which can typically take around a week.
“While indications are that this may be Taylor Williams, the exact identification of the victim will be made pending some detailed forensic analysis of those remains.” Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said last week.
Williams’ next court hearing has been scheduled for December 4 at 9 a.m.
Williams previously told police she last saw Taylor in her bedroom at around midnight on November 6, in their Brentwood, Florida, home. She said that by morning, an exterior door had been opened and Taylor had disappeared.
Williams initially cooperated with investigators. Authorities said she stopped cooperating when they informed her that her story didn’t add up. Since then, she’s been staying on base.
“We were talking to her about some inconsistencies in her statement and that’s when she chose to stop cooperating with us,” Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said.
Williams lived in an apartment at SouthSide Villas in Jacksonville until early November, when she moved to a home off of Ivy Drive in Brentwood. She reported Taylor missing after moving to the new home, yet the last known sighting of Taylor was on May 21.
An arrest affidavit indicated a neighbor spotted Taylor wandering home alone several times in April, at the Southside Villas complex. The neighbor, who was home during the day and worked night shifts, said Taylor would wave to him from the sliding glass door in her apartment. She always had on the same pajamas each time, the neighbor told police.
The neighbor said Williams’ wouldn’t come until 8 or 9 p.m., carrying food that appeared to be for one person.
On April 17, the same neighbor spotted Taylor alone, again in the same pajamas, holding a doll while walking up and down the breezeway stairs at the apartment.
“Hey sweetie, what are you doing?” the neighbor said.
“Looking for my momma,” Taylor replied.
The neighbor said he walked Taylor back to her apartment and noticed it was filthy, with boxes stacked up and bags of trash inside.
Read the full affidavit below.
Taylor Williams: Brianna Wi… by Leigh Egan on Scribd
The story continues to develop. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Taylor Williams/Handout]
