Osceola County mother charged with trying to kill her children with SUV

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — An Osceola County mother arrested in January on child abuse charges is now facing allegations of attempted murder.

Constance Gayheart, 47, is accused of chasing her children with her SUV, which resulted in the initial child abuse charges, officials said.

Prosecutors have now upgraded the charges to attempted murder.

According to Osceola County Sheriff’s Office records, deputies have been dispatched to Gayheart’s home 31 times in the past 10 years.

At least one case resulted in her children being removed from the home by the Florida Department of Children and Families, but when the state dropped the child abuse charges they were returned.

Officials did not say how old Gayheart’s children are, with some referred to as teens and others as small children.

The woman was charged with misdemeanor child abuse in December after a neighbor reported seeing her push one of the children.

It was a month later when the SUV incident was reported to deputies, when she chased two of the children and hit them with the vehicle.

Gayheart was being held without bond at the Osceola County Jail on two counts of aggravated child abuse, battery, child abuse and two counts of attempted premeditated murder.

Cox Media Group