An eight-year-old girl has revealed her toddler sister’s heartbreaking reaction when their mom allegedly demanded they drink bleach.
Joanne Zephir was found unconscious in her car with her daughters, aged three and eight years old, on 8 May 2022 after she allegedly forced the children to drink bleach mixed with milk.
Zephir’s eight-year-old surviving daughter has since revealed her little sister had called the mixture ‘yucky’ before she was viciously strangled and died, reported Law & Crime.
She told investigators that she drank three big sips before vomiting, described it as smelling bad, like pickles, and said it burned her tongue, according to documents.
‘Joanne told her the milk was good for her, and she had to drink it and then proceeded to make the three-year-old drink about half the bottle of milk,’ officials said.
The daughter told investigators that their mom had picked the two girls up from their aunt’s house and drove them to the parking lot where they were found.
The mother was already facing an arrest warrant for attempted murder at the time after her husband, who also survived, was stabbed, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
Joanne Zephir, 38, allegedly strangled her three-year-old daughter to death after stabbing her husband and making her daughters drink bleach
Sheriff Marcos Lopez revealed that Zephir claimed she was under a ‘voo-doo’ spell that made her attack her children
According to a press conference held by Sheriff Marcos Lopez in May 2022, Zephir told a family member that she was going to turn herself into the authorities for stabbing her husband but wished to spend time with her children first.
Several hours later she phoned the family member and told them she had killed her three-year-old daughter, that the eight-year-old was also going to die and that she would also kill herself, according to the Sheriff.
‘Joanne advised she drank a considerable amount of bleach in an attempt to commit suicide,’ they wrote, reported Law & Crime.
She was found in the driver’s seat of the car, lethargic and drooling from the mouth, while the three-year-old was found unresponsive in the backseat.
Zephir was then hospitalized and seen in bodycam footage being wheeled to the sheriff’s car.
She was taken into questioning and told the officers that she was under the influence of a ‘voo-doo’ spell that led her to harm her children, Fox10 reported.
Zephir was indicted by a grand jury in February for first degree murder with a weapon, a capital felony with the option to seek the death penalty, the State’s Attorney’s office said.
Zephir was seen on bodycam footage being wheeled from the hospital to the sheriff’s car before being taken in for questioning after the horrific death of her three-year-old
Several hours after telling a family member she would turn herself in for her husband’s stabbing, she phoned and told them she had killed her three-year-old daughter, that the eight-year-old was going to die and that she would kill herself
The office said the decision to seek the harshest punishment was based on several factors including Zephir having custody of the victim and the victim being under twelve.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for her, though they have offered a plea deal.
She recently tried to replace her attorney, but it was determined she was ‘not being rendered ineffective counsel.’
Her attorney, Junior Barrett, works for the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel.
Zephir will stand trial in Florida beginning on May 7, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
