Police: Woman confesses to drowning adopted son in bathtub

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Police says a woman in Northern California faces a murder charge after confessing she drown her 12-year-old son in a bathtub.

The San Jose Mercury News reports Tara McNeill Palajac was arraigned in the Jan. 8 death of her adopted son at their Santa Clara home.

Police say Palajac initially said the boy had accidentally drowned but later confessed under police interrogation.

According to court documents the child was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead about two hours later.

Palajac reportedly told officers that she was home alone with the boy when in the bathtub partially floating face up in the water.

Police say that detectives conducted a lengthy follow-up interview with Palajac three days later and she reportedly admitted that she held the child underwater "until he was lifeless."