Woman pleads guilty to murder in drowning, beheading of daughter

A mentally troubled woman accused of drowning her 6-year-old daughter, cutting off her head and throwing the remains off a bridge has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.

The father of Samara Laverne Spann, 32, told a newspaper in 2005 his daughter routinely called the girl a "devil child" and belonged to a cult that worshipped the late rapper Tupac Shakur as the reincarnation of the 16th century political philosopher Machiavelli.

Spann drowned the girl in a bathtub after seeking advice from someone who was interested in the occult. Then she cut off the girl's head, wrapped a chain about the body, put the girl's remains into a plastic bin and threw it off a bridge, according to court filings.

The remains of the daughter, Kyeimah, have never found.

Under the plea agreement accepted Wednesday, prosecutors will recommend a 23-year prison term, spokesman Dan Donohoe said.

Had the case gone to trial, Spann would have pleaded innocent by reason of insanity, defense lawyer Virginia Faller said.

Spann told investigators she was using drugs heavily at the time of the killing, officials have said. She also was upset because her daughter kept getting out of bed and interrupting a telephone conversation, reports AP.

An investigation showed the little girl had been subjected to extensive abuse and had been removed from her mother's care three times in California, only to be returned each time.