Jailed Mom Accused Of Shooting Daughter Calls To Prevent Teen From Testifying

SEAT PLEASANT, MD — A Prince George's mother charged with attempted murder in the shooting of her 13-year-old daughter made what prosecutors say was a disturbing phone call from jail in an effort to persuade the teen not to discuss what happened.

Talecka Brown, 32, of Seat Pleasant has been charged with first-degree attempted murder along with other charges, and is in jail without bond after police said she shot her daughter in the neck Monday afternoon at their home during an argument.

Prosecutors said in court that Brown called the girl's father from jail Wednesday and left him a voicemail in which Brown said the case would go away if their daughter didn't show up for court, NBC Washington reported.

"At no time did she express any concern for how her child is doing," Assistant Prince George's County State's Attorney Ashley Sowls said.

The judge ordered Brown to be held without bond after prosecutors said the jail phone call supported their argument that Brown might pressure the victim not to speak against her in the case.

"That's our concern is that it's her mother. She's gonna listen to her mother. We don't want her to be tainted in any way by the pressure," Sowls said.

The 13-year-old was still in the intensive care unit on Wednesday, recovering from the gunshot wound, but managed to walk around her hospital room. Doctors had been concerned the girl could be paralyzed because of where the bullet struck her.

"We know it's going to take some time for her to recover from her physical injuries, but her emotional injuries — that may last a lifetime," Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy said. "And while no one thinks that a mother would shoot her very own daughter — no one could conceive of that — these incidents do happen."

On Sept. 23 around 4:50 p.m., Brown contacted police about a shooting. Seat Pleasant Officers arrived to a home in the 500 block of 69th Place, where they found her 13-year-old daughter with a gunshot wound to her neck. Investigators determined the mother used a handgun to shoot her daughter.

The girl told police officers she had been shot after getting home from school, according to court documents.

The victim later told police at the hospital that she and her mother argued and it turned physical, NBC Washington reported.

According to reports, Brown told the girl to say she was shot by someone who broke into their home. Brown initially said a homeless person shot her daughter and that she was already bleeding when she came home from school, according to police dispatch audio.

Court documents show Brown gave conflicting statements during an interview with police and eventually admitted she was the only one home with her daughter at the time of the shooting.

Surveillance footage shows the teen walking home from school, grabbing a trash can from the curb and entering the house.

A loaded black Glock handgun was taken from the home after a search warrant was executed, according to Fox 5 DC.