An Athens woman, who police say confessed to smothering her young daughter with a pillow, has been indicted for capital murder.

Stephanie Smith

Stephanie Diane Smith, 26, is indicted in the July 7, 2016 death of 4-year-old Zadie Cooper, according to court records. If Smith is convicted, she faces life without parole or the death penalty.

Smith was arrested earlier this year in the child's death after she walked into the Athens Police Department and confessed, authorities have said.

Smith, who also goes by the name Stephanie Cooper, initially lied to police about what happened to her daughter, Athens police Chief Floyd Johnson told reporters when he announced the arrest in April of this year. When Smith called 911 to report her daughter wasn't breathing on July 4, 2016, she told investigators that she heard something on the baby monitor and found Zadie between the bed and the wall and the child wasn't breathing, police said.

When emergency personnel responded to the scene, they found Smith performing CPR on the child. Smith again lied to police and the Department of Human Resources during an interview in October 2016, when she told the same story, Johnson said.

Cooper died July 7, 2016 when family decided to remove her from life support because a series of tests didn't find any brain activity. A private autopsy didn't determine cause of death.

Limestone County District Attorney Brian Jones and Smith's defense attorney Roger Clem weren't immediately available for comment Friday.

Smith is held in the Limestone County Jail without bail.

A grand jury issues an indictment when it determines prosecutors have enough evidence to take a case to trial. A trial date hasn't yet been scheduled.