Jamie Michele Bradley-Brun (Beaufort County Detention Center).

According to a statement from the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, Deputy Solicitor Mary Jones recounted the harrowing events of May 19, 2023. Bradley-Brun instructed her 6-year-old daughter, Mackay, to remove her clothing, which authorities described as a “funeral dress,” and enter a bathtub filled with water. She then forced Mackay under the water, despite the child’s desperate struggle, until the young girl drowned.

The horror did not end there. Bradley-Brun proceeded to wake her 8-year-old daughter, attempting to subject her to the same fate. However, the child resisted fiercely, and the commotion was enough to alert Bradley-Brun’s eldest daughter, who intervened just in time to prevent further tragedy.

Authorities were alerted shortly after midnight on May 19, following a distressing 911 call reporting a woman attempting to drown her children. Upon arriving at the scene, deputies discovered Mackay deceased, dressed in what Jones described as a “funeral dress.”

Deputy Solicitor Jones emphasized the premeditated nature of the act, stating, “This wasn’t an accident or a mental health crisis. She planned it.” Despite Bradley-Brun’s attempts to deflect blame onto her alcoholism and others, Jones reinforced the gravity of her actions, asserting, “She held her daughter under the water and tried to do the same to her middle daughter. There is no excuse.”

Jones said, “This wasn’t an accident or a mental health crisis,” and that Bradley-Brun “planned it.” According to Jones, Bradley-Brun was “competent” despite claiming her alcoholism and other people were responsible for her actions. Jones added, “She held her daughter under the water and tried to do the same to her middle daughter. There is no excuse.”

Bradley-Brun pleaded guilty to both murder and attempted murder charges. She received 50 years in prison for the murder charge and 30 years for the attempted murder charge, to be served concurrently.