Bathtub Murders: Brooklyn Mom, Shakeeman Elliot, and Daughter Killed; Accused Knew Mother, Say Cops

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Police arrested a man Monday on charges that he strangled Shakeeman Elliot of Brooklyn, and her 8-year-old daughter, and left their bodies in a bathtub partially filled with water.

The New York Police Department said detectives arrested 24-year-old Amahal Lynch on charges of second-degree murder.

Lynch had known the 29-year-old mother police said, but they did not disclose a motive. CBS affiliate WCBS reports that family members said the suspect and Elliot had dated casually but were not a couple.

The medical examiner had ruled earlier Monday that the deaths of the mother and daughter, Kaliya Williams, were homicides. The New York Daily News reports Lynch confessed to strangling the victims.

Officers found the bodies Sunday while investigating a possible burglary at a fourth-floor apartment in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn.

A friend, Tobias Stuart, said there had been no previous signs of trouble. "She was a loving mother," Stuart told the Daily News. "It was just her and her daughter all the time."