Florida mother pleads guilty to 2019 murder of her 5-year-old daughter, who was found in shallow grave

A mother has pleaded guilty to the murder of her young daughter who disappeared over two years ago in Florida and was found dead a state away.

On Nov. 12, 2019, six days after Brianna Williams reported her 5-year-old daughter Taylor Rose Williams missing in Jacksonville, authorities located the girl’s remains in a shallow grave in rural Marengo County, Alabama, WJXT reported.

According to the station, shortly after the discovery, Brianna Williams was named a person of interest in the case and she was hospitalized after she attempted to ingest an unknown substance.

Court documents show Williams, a former Navy Chief Petty Officer, was accused of torturing, maliciously punishing or caging her daughter, who was last seen alive over six months before she disappeared.

Investigators found evidence of bloodstains in multiple locations in the mother’s home, including in a closet, as well as fecal matter, soiled children’s clothing, and the noticeable scent of decay in both the residence and in the trunk of the suspect’s Honda Accord, court documents state.

According to the State Attorney's Office, on March 3, the mother entered the guilty plea to the second-degree murder of her daughter after her defense team learned investigators gathered evidence from a computer hard drive that allegedly showed internet searches that included malnourished children and incest pornography, The Florida Times-Union reported.

Williams faces between 20 years to life in prison when she is sentenced in the spring.

She previously also faced charges of child neglect, aggravated child abuse, lying to law enforcement officers, and tampering with evidence, the State Attorney’s Office said.