By Corinne Rose 

CENTERVILLE, Iowa (Indiana’s NewsCenter) — The stepmother of murdered 9-year old Aliahna Lemmon is now charged with two counts of attempted murder.

23-year old Kristina Kennedy-Maroney had been engaged to Aliahna Lemmon’s father, and taken his last name

Now she sits in an Iowa jail.

In 2008, Kennedy-Maroney graduated from Hicksville High School and the Four County Career Center vocational school with a certificate in early childhood.

But police say just a year later, she tried to kill her five-month old daughter, Bri — twice.

In January, relatives in New York were caring for the now-two year old, and called authorities with suspicions.

It’s not clear why the toddler was not living with her mother.

Police and court documents out of Iowa say Kennedy-Maroney confessed to trying to drown her then 5-month old daughter in the tub in 2009 because the child’s father wouldn’t help her out.

She told police that a few days later she tried to suffocate her daughter with a pillow.

She says each time she had a change of heart and resuscitated the baby.

Hicksville police arrested her last week and officers from Iowa picked her up.

You’ll remember last Christmas, nine-year old Aliahna was bludgeoned, then dismembered by her neighbor and babysitter, Michael Plumadore.

He’s serving life without parole at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility.

Kennedy-Maroney will be back in an Iowa courtroom next week.

By the way, she was charged in June but not arrested until last week because she was pregnant. She gave birth about nine days ago.

Her newborn is in protective custody in Ohio while she’s in jail in Iowa.