Polk County prosecutors have released new documents in the case of a 14-year-old girl accused of killing her newborn son.
Cassidy Goodson is accused of keeping her pregnancy secret then giving birth to the child in the bathroom of her family home on Sept. 19.
The new documents, acquired with Bay News 9's partner newspaper the Lakeland Ledger, include a recorded video account from Goodson describing what happened the day she gave birth.
Goodson walked detectives through the events of that day at her mobile home. In the investigation video, she told officers how she sat on the toilet and gave birth to a 9.5-pound baby boy. In the interview, she said she was afraid of losing her close relationship with her parents and didn't want to ruin their image of her.
"So I put my, umm, hands around its throat to make it (the baby) stop breathing," Goodson said. "I put in on there for about a minute. And then I, umm, checked after a minute to see if it was breathing.
"I wanted it to stop breathing so I wouldn't get in trouble," Goodson said.
Goodson, a Lakeland Kathleen High School student, was arrested Sept. 28 after the Polk County Sheriff's Office received a call about the baby, who was found inside a shoebox in the girl's room.
Goodson is facing adult charges of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. In accordance with Bay News 9's crime guidelines, her name is being used because she is being tried as an adult.
For even more on this story, pick up a copy of today's Ledger.