BEDFORD — In a proceeding at the Lawrence County Superior Court this afternoon, Brittany Medina, of Mitchell, entered a plea of guilty but mentally ill to two counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in death, both Level 1 felonies. The charges stem from the tragic deaths of her two young children, three-year-old Jackson and one-year-old Madelyn, in September 2023.
Judge John Plummer III presided over the hearing, where Medina’s plea was taken under advisement pending sentencing. By mutual agreement, Medina waived her right to be sentenced within 30 days, and the sentencing hearing has been scheduled for October 23, 2025, at 9:00 a.m.
According to court reports, the events leading to the children’s deaths unfolded on September 26, 2023. Reports indicate Medina had ingested a mix of substances, including Xanax, Suboxone strips, and cocaine, before the incident. Her boyfriend, Ryan Shelton, and the father of the children, reportedly woke her around 6:30 a.m., and Medina claimed to have made breakfast and put on cartoons for her children.
The day took a tragic turn when, around 2:30 p.m., Medina later told authorities she began hearing voices. She claimed the voices urged her to “send her children to Heaven” or face torture. Believing she had to comply to protect herself and her children, Medina admitted to taking both Jackson and Madelyn into the bathroom and holding them underwater in the bathtub until they stopped moving.
Following the act, Medina reportedly changed into dry clothes and drove herself to the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department. She confessed to an officer on duty, stating she had drowned her children in the bathtub of their home. A subsequent investigation by Detective Michael Williams corroborated her account.
