ALEXANDRA BIGHAM - 3 yo (2010) - Patterson CA

PATTERSON, Calif.—A young
mother was jailed Friday on suspicion of murder after deputies found
the woman's 3-year-old daughter dead in a bathtub, the Stanislaus
County Sheriff's Office said.


Sheriff's deputies said 23-year-old
Castro Valley resident Jennifer Bigham was arrested on suspicion of
child abuse and murder in the drowning death of her daughter,
Alexandra. Deputies arrived at the Patterson home around 6 p.m.
Thursday to find the child underwater and unresponsive. Deputies
performed CPR on the child, but were unable to revive her. The girl was pronounced dead after being flown to a Modesto-area hospital. "Detectives attempted to interview the suspect. She was very uncooperative," said Sheriff's spokesman Andrew Winter. At least two of Bigham's family members were at the house, Winter said, and cooperated with investigators. "They helped detectives form that opinion, that the mother intentionally tried to drown her daughter," Winter said. Bigham was also treated at the hospital for self-inflicted superficial stab wounds to her upper body, Winter said. She is being held without bail at Stanislaus County Jail.
* * * *

PATTERSON
— A Castro Valley woman suspected of drowning her 3-year-old daughter
while visiting relatives was not talking to authorities after being
arrested Friday.Police and medical personnel responded to a home
in Patterson — a small city off Interstate 5, about 20 miles southwest
of Modesto — around 6 p.m. Thursday after receiving numerous calls for
help."The first call came from a relative inside the house, and
then neighbors started calling to report they heard screaming," said
Deputy Andrew Winter of the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department.They
found Alexandrea Bigham, 3, unresponsive in a bathtub. She was taken by
helicopter to Doctor's Medical Center in Modesto and pronounced dead
about four hours later.The toddler's mother, 23-year-old
Jennifer Bigham, was found to have superficial stab wounds to her chest
that appeared to be self-inflicted, according to a sheriff's report.
After talking with family members and investigating the scene,
detectives concluded that the drowning was an intentional act.Bigham
was arrested and booked into jail after being treated for her wounds.
She faces charges of murder and child abuse resulting in death, and is
on suicide watch because of the nature of the injuries from the night
before, Winter said."We're still trying to piece together what happened," he said.
"(Bigham) hasn't spoken to detectives or jail staff."He said family members have been cooperative
and are talking to detectives, but further information about what
happened has not been released. Bigham is being held without bail.

Briefs: Hearing again postponed for woman arrested in drowning case

Aug 05, 2010

A preliminary pretrial hearing was postponed for a third time Tuesday morning, Aug. 2, for a 23-year-old Castro Valley woman who pleaded not guilty in the Jan. 14 drowning death of her 3-year-old daughter.

Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff approved the request by Jennifer Bigham’s attorney, Marlon Simon, after explaining that a toxicology report and a mental health evaluation were under way. The new court date has been set for 8:30 a.m., Nov. 9.

Earlier this year, Bigham entered a not-guilty plea to charges that she drowned her daughter, Alexandrea, while visiting a house on the 400 block of Thrush Drive in Patterson on Jan. 14. The district attorney’s charges include murder, child abuse resulting in death and battery on a paramedic.

Bigham pleaded not guilty to all charges, including two felonies and a misdemeanor. Her bail is set at $2 million.



Read more: Patterson Irrigator - Briefs Hearing again postponed for woman arrested in drowning case

Hearing postponed in child drowning case

May 12, 2011

A preliminary pretrial hearing was postponed Tuesday morning, May 10, for Jennifer Bigham, a 23-year-old Castro Valley woman who pleaded not guilty in the 2010 drowning death of her 3-year-old daughter.

Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff approved the request by Bigham’s attorney, Marlon Simon, who stated that a mental health evaluation was still incomplete.

Bigham faces charges that she drowned her daughter, Alexandrea, while visiting a house on the 400 block of Thrush Drive in Patterson on Jan. 14, 2010. The district attorney’s charges include murder, child abuse resulting in death and battery on a paramedic.

Bigham pleaded not guilty to all charges, including two felonies and a misdemeanor. Her bail is set at $2 million. She remains in Stanislaus County Jail.



Read more: Patterson Irrigator - Hearing postponed in child drowning case

BIGHAM , JENNIFER LYNN 1253582 10/11/1986 SO 18:00 SC 01/15/2010
Charges: 187(A) PC Case No: 1413560 Bail: $2,000,000 CourtDt: 11/08/2011
Charges: 273AB PC Case No: 1413560 Bail: INCLUSIVE CourtDt: 11/08/2011

http://scsdonline.com/reports/InCustody.pdf

Charges: 187(A) PC Case No: 1413560 Bail: $2,000,000 CourtDt: 12/13/2011

http://scsdonline.com/reports/InCustody.pdf

BIGHAM , JENNIFER LYNN 1253582 10/11/1986 SO 18:00 SC 01/15/2010
Charges: 187(A) PC Case No: 1413560 Bail: $2,000,000 CourtDt: 01/25/2012
Charges: 273AB PC Case No: 1413560 Bail: INCLUSIVE CourtDt: 01/25/2012
Charges: 243(B) PC Case No: 1413560 Bail: INCLUSIVE CourtDt: 01/25/2012

http://scsdonline.com/reports/InCustody.pdf

Sanity ruling frees mom held since daughter's drowning in Patterson
BY ROSALIO AHUMADA
rahumada@modbee.comJanuary 22, 2013

MODESTO — Three years after Jennifer Lynn Bigham drowned her 3-year-old daughter in a bathtub at a Patterson home, a judge ordered jail officials to release her from custody because doctors say the woman no longer is insane.

The court already had ruled that Bigham, 26, was not guilty of murder and child abuse by reason of insanity in connection with the death of her daughter, Alexandrea Bigham. At a hearing Tuesday, the judge had to decide whether the defendant should be confined in a secure medical facility.

Two doctors testified that Bigham no longer exhibits the symptoms that led to the psychotic breakdown, causing the defendant to drown her daughter. Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff said the law clearly dictates that he has to order the defendant's release if she has fully recovered her sanity.

Deputy District Attorney Elaine Casillas argued that the court's standard was not stringent enough in determining Bigham's mental health status. She said the court did not ask the doctors to determine whether Bigham could be a danger to herself or others once she is released.

"She's a danger to society," Casillas said about Bigham after the hearing. "She's not been evaluated properly."

Had the doctors determined that Bigham still was suffering from mental illness, the judge could have ordered the defendant to a life-term stay at a medical facility.

The prosecutor was frustrated that the judge didn't order Bigham to seek some type of outpatient mental health treatment after her release.

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/2013/01/22/2543721/judge-orders-release-of-woman.html#storylink=cpy