NJ mom charged with murdering 3-year-old released from jail into psych ward

FLORHAM PARK — A 43-year-old mother accused of murdering her young daughter in Morris County has been transferred to a secure psychiatric facility.

Jeanine Glass, of Florham Park, was released to a "locked" facility after her detention hearing Monday in Superior Court, the Morris County Prosecutor’s office said.

Her defense attorney has publicly cited a lengthy history of mental illness and said it appears to have played a "significant role in this heartbreaking incident."

A full statement sent to New Jersey 101.5 has been included below.

Court documents and the 911 recording show that Glass’ husband first found his wife, semi-conscious in their Florham Park home and reported a potential drug overdose.

It was only after police and EMS arrived and rushed Glass for treatment that her spouse made the horrific discovery of his three-year-old child’s lifeless body in a bathtub.

Suspected self-harm of mother shared in 911 call

On July 6 at 10:41 p.m., Glass was found by her husband, wearing wet clothing and semi-conscious inside a first floor home office at their residence on Woods End Road.

In speaking with a dispatcher, he said his wife had written a note and that she was breathing but non-responsive, as heard in the 911 recording.

Florham Park police and EMS arrived and Glass was taken to a nearby hospital.

Her husband stayed behind with an officer, trying to piece together what Glass might have done in the moments before she was found, an affidavit said.

The father then mentioned checking on his children and went upstairs to find the lights on in his daughter’s room and her crib empty.

The victim was then found, partially underwater, in a bathroom.

Her older brother was safe asleep in his own bedroom.

Glass was alone with both of their children earlier that evening while her husband was out, investigators said.

Read More: NJ mom who caused baby son's suffocation death heads to prison

’History of mental illness’ prompts psych ward transfer

On July 8, Jeanine Glass made statements to police about being suicidal and about her daughter drowning, investigators said.

Results were still pending from a July 7 autopsy on the young child.

"The unfortunate reality is that Jeanine has a longstanding history of mental illness, which, though well managed with psychiatric care for many years, appears to have played a significant role in this heartbreaking incident," a statement from Glass’ defense attorney Anne Collart read in part, as first quoted by the Morristown Daily Record.

Glass was admitted to Hackensack Meridian Carrier Clinic facility in Belle Mead, the report said.

Her next court appearance will be Sept. 2.

On Wednesday evening, Collart sent the following statement to New Jersey 101.5.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom