Couple Who Claimed Toddler ‘Fell’ in Bathtub Arrested After Autopsy Uncovers Chilling Details

The child’s mother, Zayla Goodwin, 20, and her boyfriend, Nathaniel Davis, 23, were both taken into custody last week, according to a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office press release, and are now facing multiple charges in relation to her death.

Goodwin was charged with aggravated manslaughter while her boyfriend was hit with a first-degree murder charge, aggravated child abuse, tampering with evidence, and two counts of sexual battery.

All of this came after the medical examiner determined on December 4, 2024, that the child’s death was a homicide. Their office found evidence of blunt force trauma, as well as methamphetamine in the toddler’s system.

The couple had already been charged with neglect after police were called to their home about a medical emergency on September 10, 2024. There, they found Foe in cardiac arrest, unresponsive, and suffering from “multiple injuries,” per News4Jax.

After being rushed to the hospital in what the arrest warrant described as “life threatening condition,” and doctors “not optimistic” of her survival, Foe died September 18.

Goodwin told police, according to the probable cause affidavit seen by Law & Crime, that she awoke that day to Davis yelling that he’d found the toddler face-down on her mattress. He was performing CPR on the toddler, per Goodwin’s statement.

Investigators discovered that Foe had suffered fractures in one arm and both of her legs. They also reported ligature marks around her neck, as well as evidence of bruising and scratching “over the entire body.” The body also revealed evidence having been sexually abused.

The couple’s home was also investigated, where authorities uncovered bloody bandages, bloody diapers in the trash, and bloody blankets near Foe’s bed, according to the arrest warrant, as well as drugs and drug paraphernalia.

They also spoke with a woman who told them Goodwin, Davis, and Foe had moved in with her five days before the child was taken to the hospital. She told sheriff’s deputies she’d asked about Foe’s injuries, and particularly why she appeared to have stopped walking.

They said Goodwin’s response was that the toddler “fell in the bathtub” a week ago, per the affidavit, when Davis was bathing her at their previous home.

Police spoke with a medical professional with First Coast Child Protection Team, who advised that a child with leg injuries like those found on Foe would have been unable to bear their own weight “given the extent of these fractures and the anticipated degree of pain experienced.”

They said that the leg fractures alone “would have caused intense pain and any reasonable caretaker would have sought medical attention.” Based on an examination of the child, the professionals believed the injuries were less than 10 days old at the time of her death.

The baby’s father, Brandon Foe, spoke with News4Jax about the loss of his daughter, and seemed pleased with the elevated charges for Goodwin and Davis.

“When the detectives showed me all the evidence they told me about, I knew I would be stupid to believe they didn’t do it on purpose,” he told the outlet. “The waiting game has been the hardest thing about it but now they upgraded the charges, I know they are going about it the way they said they were going to go about it.”

He also expressed his own pain that he had been unable to help his daughter. “It hurts me knowing that I could not be there as a father to protect my daughter,” he said. “I’m sure everything is going to go the way it’s supposed to. I just hope they get punished in the most way they can.”

Both Goodwin and Davis are being held in the Jefferson County Jail without bond.