Nearly three years after the heartbreaking discovery of a toddler’s body hidden inside a dresser drawer, 22-year-old Madison Marshall has pleaded guilty to two serious charges related to her daughter’s death.
The plea deal was filed on 25 April, and Marshall officially entered her guilty plea on Thursday, 1 May. She admitted to two counts: neglect of a dependent resulting in death, and neglect that placed a child in danger. Her trial was originally set for 9 May, but prosecutors have now dropped several other charges, including more counts of neglect and assisting a criminal, according to WXIN-TV. They’re now pushing for a minimum sentence of 25 years behind bars.
As part of the deal, Marshall has agreed to testify against her boyfriend, Roan Waters, who faces charges including murder and neglect in connection to the same case. His trial is due to begin on 9 June.
The disturbing case first came to light in early 2023 when Oaklee Snow’s father reported her missing. He told Oklahoma authorities that Marshall had taken Oaklee and her younger brother from his home and gone to Indiana, where Waters’ family lives. That was the last time he saw his daughter.
Waters was eventually arrested in Colorado on a separate warrant in March 2023. During questioning, he admitted that he and Marshall had stayed in a known drug house in Indiana with the children, before deciding to abandon Oaklee’s younger brother there. They then left the toddler behind too, though he didn’t say exactly where.
Marshall’s story didn’t hold up for long. While she initially claimed Oaklee was in hospital, a search turned up nothing. A neighbour reported seeing the couple leaving the house with a blanket-wrapped child who didn’t appear to be moving.
Eventually, Marshall was arrested in North Carolina, where she gave a chilling account of what happened. On 9 February 2023, she said Waters walked in holding Oaklee, saying she was unresponsive. He told her he had tried putting her in a cold bath but she didn’t wake up. When she tried to call emergency services, Waters allegedly knocked the phone out of her hand. He then left with the child and returned later with just the blanket, telling Marshall he’d left Oaklee’s body in the woods.
Later, she admitted to driving with him to an abandoned house, where he hid her daughter’s body inside a drawer. She also told police that Waters had been violent with Oaklee, reportedly choking her for minor toddler behaviour like holding a fork the wrong way.
When police searched the home, they found it in disarray, full of rubbish, with a strong smell of decomposition coming from a dresser. Inside, they found Oaklee’s remains. Her leg was clearly broken, and the cause of death was ruled a homicide by “unspecified means.”
Marshall’s guilty plea has now set the stage for the upcoming trial against Waters, where the full, harrowing truth of what happened to Oaklee may finally be heard.