GRIFFIN, Ga — It’s a case of abuse so bad, the video is too disturbing to show. Now, a mom sits in jail, accused of recording video of her dunking her 5-month old daughter underwater and posting it to Facebook.
Laquanda Mosley, 27, faces several felony charges, including aggravated assault with attempt to murder, first degree child cruelty and making terroristic threats. It was all allegedly to get back at her daughter’s father to get him to pay child support.
The video rightly stirred outrage online after they were posted to social media, but a psychiatrist 11Alive spoke to said that Mosely’s actions point to something deeper.
“This person is evidently emotionally disturbed,” said Dr. Joyce Morley. “She’s probably having a major depressive disorder, low self-esteem. Not just a matter of getting back at him and getting revenge, but getting control.”
11Alive’s Ashley Johnson asked Morely what Mosley’s arrest means for the family moving forward. Because while the infant, and two other siblings in the house at the time, may be in DFCS custody, the reality is, at some point, Mosley will be back out in the real world.
“They’re going to always wonder, ‘Where’s mom?’ They’re going to feel that abandonment. They’re going to feel that same rejection,” Morley said. “So, if we don’t be careful with how this is handled, those children are going to be going through the same thing she (Mosley) is going through.”
11Alive asked whether there is any hope for Mosley to be a loving and caring mom, or was the video the point of no return. Morley said there is a chance, but it would come with steep caveats.
“She probably loves and cares for the children now and she probably can have a chance to love and care for them again,” Morley began. “She’s going to need continuous psychotherapy. She’ll probably need some medication maintenance, and it’s not so much the symptoms – because her actions today were the symptoms of a larger problem – there’s something so at the root of all of this. And these problems that are at the root need to be dealt with.”
Morley said if Mosley is reunited with her children, family therapy would be crucial.
Mosley is being held without bond in the Spalding County Jail ahead of a court appearance Thursday, Oct. 18.
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