Wilmington woman charged with drowning infant son, another child

WILMINGTON, Del. (WTXF) - Police in Delaware say they have charged a woman with drowning her infant son and the baby's 5-year-old half-brother.

30-year-old Kula Pelima, the mother of the infant, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder. She is being held on $2 million bond.

Police say Pelima drowned her 3 1/2 month old baby boy named Solomon that she had with her boyfriend and his 5-year-old son Alex.

Wilmington police say they were called to the apartment on the 800 block of West 9th Street around 3:45 a.m. Monday morning. They say Pelima, who is Liberian, was worried about her immigration status. She feared she was going to be deported because her boyfriend Victor Eppelle had been picked up days before on immigration charges. Police saw the 5-year-old and did not feel the children were in danger. Sadly, officers would return about four hours later to a heartbreaking and gruesome scene after Pelima called 9-1-1 saying she had drowned her 2 children, according to investigators.

"She was pretty matter of fact about admission that the two children were dead. Our officers discovered them in the back bathtub," Wilmington Police Department Chief Robert Tracy said.

According to court papers, Pelima told police she dropped the 4-month-old in the tub turned on the water and left him on his back as the tub filled. Police say she then physically assaulted the 5-year old, dragged him to the bathroom and put his head under water until he stopped moving.

A small memorial sits outside the apartment. Authorities were back on scene Tuesday. You could see water on the floor and a high chair through the door.