VONORE, Tenn. — An unimaginable sight occurred for several witnesses in a southeast Tennessee lake when they told police they saw a woman holding a child under water.
It happened on Wednesday afternoon off Sea Ray Circle outside the Sea Ray Boat company on Lake Tellico.
In an affidavit, an employee told the Vonroe Police Department that a woman had refused to stop at the security. They said she also rolled up her windows and was seen smoking marijuana and blowing it into a child's face in the car. They also told police the woman was forcing the child to drink a Twisted Tea, which is an alcohol drink designed to taste like sweet tea.
That woman was Jessica Upton of Atlanta. And what happened next had those witnesses running into the lake. Witnesses said she took the child, which turned out to be her 7-year-old daughter, into the water, grabbed her by both hands and was holding her under in what they described as an attempt to "drown the child."
Once the witnesses realized what was happening, they quickly ran towards Upton and grabbed the girl.
It didn't end there, according to witnesses. Upton then ran to her car, jumped in it and drove into the lake. A witness who captured the car sinking near the marina said she was going at least 80 mph when she hit the water.
The affidavit states Upton was able to escape the sinking car through the driver's side window and managed to swim to shore. Once she got out of the lake she was taken into custody.
On Thursday, 11Alive stopped by the address that was listed on her DUI citation. A man who answered the door who didn't want to be identified said Upton had been staying with him for the past four months. He said he was shocked. He said he just saw her earlier this week.
The man said nothing appeared out of the ordinary.
"I don't know what possibly could have happened that would make her want do this," he explained.
When asked if there was any type of ongoing dispute between Upton and her daughter, he responded, "Hell nah, no, not even remotely, she loves her daughter, she would do anything for her daughter. I can’t imagine... what would make her want to do something like that."
"Maybe they gave her some bad drugs or I don’t know man, or put something in her food. I don’t know," he said.
According to the Tennessee State Patrol, Upton didn't want to talk about what happened at the lake as they were booking her at the Monroe County Justice Center.
The young girl told authorities that Upton told her they were going to visit the child's grandmother in New York. She also told them that before they got to the lake, her mom stopped by a car wash and threw away her iPad, cell phone and clothes. She explained that her mom had been acting weird for two days.
Upton has been charged with charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and DUI. The child is back home with relatives in metro Atlanta.