Records detail Goodyear mom's attempt to drown girl, 1

The woman on the phone with a Goodyear police dispatcher Monday afternoon made no effort to hide her crime, telling the operator "I just drowned my baby -- I just drowned her -- she's dead," according to court records.

When officers arrived at the apartment complex near Indian School Road and Pebble Creek Parkway they found 28-year-old Phoeteama Janiece Neal holding a fully clothed, drenched child limp in her arms, according to court documents.

The female caller gave police the address of an apartment unit near Indian School Road and Pebble Creek Parkway in Goodyear.

When police arrived, Neal told police, "I did it."

After telling officer's she had put her daughter in the tub, Neal was asked whether she was giving her daughter a bath. She said no.

Police noted the 21-month-old child was fully clothed and soaking wet while emergency personnel administered treatment.

A neighbor who had earlier seen Neal walking out of a breezeway in the apartment complex and holding her child told officers that Neal appeared to be in a "zombie state".

The child in her arms appeared limp and there seemed to be white foam around her mouth and on Neal's upper chest, according to the neighbor's interview with police.

The child was flown to the Phoenix Children's Hospital shortly after, where she later went into severe cardiac arrest due to submersion-related injuries, the records show.

The girl was estimated to have a one percent rate of survival, according to court records.

Both Neal and the baby's father were serving in the U.S. Air Force at Luke Air Force Base, according to court records. The father was not living with Neal and the two were unmarried, police said.

Police contacted the father who described a custody dispute over the child.

He said Neal was set to be deployed to Turkey on Aug. 31 and had intended to bring her daughter whom she had full custody over, according to police.

But the father told police a Maricopa County judge ruled full custody would be transferred to the him upon Neal's deployment, according to the records.

Goodyear Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Kutis said Neal had learned of the court decision on Monday.