Briasha Stroud is scheduled for sentencing July 23 after admitting to attempted murder in the 2025 Deer Park shooting.

CINCINNATI, Ohio — An Ohio woman has pleaded guilty to attempted murder more than a year after prosecutors said she shot her 12-year-old son in the back of the head while they sat inside a car parked in a suburban Cincinnati garage.

Briasha Stroud, 30, entered the plea June 9 before Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Melba Marsh. The plea ended the question of whether Stroud would go to trial on the attempted murder allegation and moved the case toward sentencing. Marsh scheduled that hearing for July 23. Prosecutors told the court that the boy survived the shooting but suffered severe injuries that continue to affect his condition and future. They described the harm as life-changing and said the child is not expected to return to the life he had before the shooting.

The plea marked the most important court development since a Hamilton County grand jury indicted Stroud in February 2025. The indictment initially included one count of attempted murder and two counts of felonious assault. Those allegations arose from a Jan. 26, 2025, emergency at a home on Glenway Avenue in Deer Park, a small community northeast of Cincinnati. Authorities said Stroud and her son were inside a vehicle in a garage when she shot him at close range. Stroud also suffered a gunshot wound to her chest and was suspected of taking drugs during the incident.

At the plea hearing, an assistant prosecutor outlined the state’s account of the shooting and emphasized the seriousness of the child’s injuries. The prosecutor said the boy’s condition has fluctuated and that the damage will permanently shape his life. The court was also told that prosecutors could consider a future murder charge if the child were to die from injuries directly caused by the shooting. Officials expressed hope that such a step would never become necessary, but they said the guilty plea would not necessarily prevent a later case based on a subsequent death.

Stroud’s admission means prosecutors will not have to prove attempted murder at a jury trial. A guilty plea has the same effect as a conviction for the offense admitted in court, though the judge must still impose a sentence. WLWT reported that the judge said Stroud would receive a prison term ranging from 11 years to 16½ years. The final sentencing order, including any credit for time already spent in custody and other court-imposed conditions, is expected to be addressed at the July hearing.

The investigation began shortly before 3 p.m. on Jan. 26, 2025, when a man identifying himself as Stroud’s boyfriend called 911 from the Deer Park home. He told a dispatcher that his girlfriend and her son had been shot and that he believed Stroud had shot the child. He also reported that she appeared to be overdosing. The caller said he had been inside the house and had not heard a gunshot before going to the garage, where he found Stroud unconscious in the driver’s seat and the boy wounded in the passenger seat.

Audio of the emergency call captured the caller asking for medical help and responding to questions about the child’s condition. He said the boy was still breathing and moving. The dispatcher instructed him to place a cloth over the wound and apply pressure while emergency crews were on their way. The caller also reported that Stroud was foaming at the mouth and that he did not know whether she had taken pills. The recording provided investigators with an early account of where the two were found and what the caller observed before police arrived.

Police and paramedics transported both Stroud and her son to a hospital in critical condition. Deer Park Police Chief David Battin confirmed at the time that each had suffered a gunshot wound. Stroud survived and was later transferred into custody at the Hamilton County Justice Center. The boy also survived, although officials released few medical details during the early stages of the case because he is a minor. Prosecutors offered a more serious assessment during later court proceedings, saying his injuries were profound and continued to place his health in uncertainty.

The boy was an Amity Elementary School student when the shooting occurred. After Stroud was indicted, the Deer Park School District informed families that counselors and mental health professionals were available to students and staff. The district did not publicly identify the child by name. News organizations have also generally withheld his identity because of his age, the nature of the case and the absence of a clear public interest in naming him.

Authorities have not publicly identified a motive for the shooting. The available reports do not explain what happened before Stroud and the boy entered the car, how long they had been in the garage or whether anyone had observed a dispute. Investigators have said the shooting occurred while mother and son were together inside the vehicle, but many details about the period leading up to the violence have not been released. The guilty plea establishes Stroud’s criminal responsibility for attempted murder but does not, by itself, answer those remaining questions.

The case remained pending for roughly 16 months before the guilty plea. During that time, Stroud stayed in custody after her release from the hospital. A judge declined a defense request to reduce her $500,000 bond in April 2026. Reports at the time also indicated that the court had been reviewing issues related to her competency. Competency concerns address whether a defendant can understand court proceedings and assist in a defense; they are separate from whether the defendant committed the charged act. The case ultimately advanced to the plea hearing in June.

Stroud’s lawyers had earlier pursued a claim that she should not be held criminally responsible because of her mental condition, according to WLWT’s report on the plea hearing. That effort did not succeed. No detailed findings from mental health evaluations were available in the reports reviewed, and the court record cited by news organizations did not provide a public explanation of any diagnosis or treatment. The guilty plea indicates that the court found Stroud able to enter an informed admission to the attempted murder charge.

The next proceeding will focus less on whether Stroud committed the offense and more on the punishment the court considers appropriate. Judges commonly review the seriousness of the conduct, the harm to the victim, the defendant’s record, statements from attorneys and any information contained in a presentence investigation. The publicly available reporting does not state whether the child’s relatives will speak, whether a written victim-impact statement will be submitted or whether Stroud plans to address the court.

Although the plea resolves the attempted murder charge, the child’s medical condition remains the central human consequence of the case. Prosecutors have avoided releasing a detailed diagnosis but have repeatedly said the injuries are permanent and severe. Their warning about a possible future murder charge shows that the legal outcome may still depend in part on what happens to the boy. As of July 13, officials had not announced a change to the July 23 sentencing date or released a new public update on his condition.

Author note: Last updated July 13, 2026.