sickos!
CLINTON, Ill. (Dec. 11) - A man and a woman facing charges in the drowning deaths of her three children are scheduled to appear in court Thursday but are not expected to enter a plea, according to the DeWitt County Sheriff.
Amanda L. Hamm and her boyfriend, Maurice Lagrone Jr., are charged with first-degree murder, charges that carry aggravating factors that could make them eligible for the death penalty if convicted. Hamm's three children died on Sept. 2 when their car went into a lake. They were being held on $5 million bond at the DeWitt County Jail. The two are not expected to enter a plea when they make their court appearance Thursday, Sheriff Roger W. Massey said.
Hamm's mother, Ann Denison, said Thursday that her daughter had problems throughout her childhood and that she is standing by prosecutors who have charged the young woman with murder.
Authorities won't say what they believe happened that day at the lake or why they suspect Hamm, 27, and her boyfriend, Lagrone, 28, intentionally killed the three children, but Denison said the evidence supports the allegations.
''I love my daughter, but I have to put that barrier around me because she took my three grandkids away from me,'' she said on NBC-TV's ''Today'' show Thursday.
A 6-year-old, 3-year-old and toddler drowned when their car plunged into a lake.
When asked about Hamm's mental health, Denison said her daughter ''had a lot of problems in her life,'' including low self-esteem. But she said Hamm was a good mother who was with her children all the time, and she said Lagrone seemed attached to the children as well.
''I would never have dreamed in a million years that she would do something like this,'' said Denison, who works for the local prosecutor. ''She knows I would have taken the kids.''
Hamm called 911 from Clinton Lake on Sept. 2, saying a car had rolled into the lake with her children inside. When officials arrived five minutes later, the rear end of the car was in 4 1/2 feet of water. The car had gone in front first.
Rescuers pulled 6-year-old Christopher Hamm, 3-year-old Austin Brown and 23-month-old Kyleigh Hamm from the vehicle, but all three children died.
Authorities have said Hamm and Lagrone were not launching or removing a boat, and it was not clear if they were in the car when it went in the water. The couple never spoke to reporters or returned messages for comment.
A check of court records indicated Lagrone was convicted in McLean County for misdemeanor domestic battery and possession of drug paraphernalia in 1995, and he was issued a citation in DeWitt County in July for failing to wear a seat belt. A check on Hamm found no prior record.
Massey ruled out life-insurance money as a motive Wednesday, but he said more answers would have to wait for trial.
He said the case has ''some similarities'' to 1994 case of Susan Smith, who was convicted of drowning her two young sons by rolling her car into a South Carolina lake with the boys strapped into their car seats, but he would not elaborate.
''We do have a motive, and I think that the jury will take a quick look at it and will agree with us,'' Massey said Thursday on ''Today.''
The DeWitt County state's attorney recused himself from the case because Denison works for his office. The appointed special prosecutor, Roger Simpson, a private attorney in Monticello, did not return a message left on his answering machine Wednesday.
The charges didn't surprise Diana Todd, who lived near Hamm in this community of 7,500 about 140 miles southwest of Chicago.
''Something just wasn't right about it,'' Todd said. ''I'm a parent of three children myself, and I just could not see three children going into the water and not doing nothing. I would have died trying to get them out.
''We still have the question of why. But this I think is going to help give a lot of us some closure, too, on why.''
Amanda L. Hamm and her boyfriend, Maurice Lagrone Jr., are charged with first-degree murder, charges that carry aggravating factors that could make them eligible for the death penalty if convicted. Hamm's three children died on Sept. 2 when their car went into a lake. They were being held on $5 million bond at the DeWitt County Jail. The two are not expected to enter a plea when they make their court appearance Thursday, Sheriff Roger W. Massey said.
Hamm's mother, Ann Denison, said Thursday that her daughter had problems throughout her childhood and that she is standing by prosecutors who have charged the young woman with murder.
Authorities won't say what they believe happened that day at the lake or why they suspect Hamm, 27, and her boyfriend, Lagrone, 28, intentionally killed the three children, but Denison said the evidence supports the allegations.
''I love my daughter, but I have to put that barrier around me because she took my three grandkids away from me,'' she said on NBC-TV's ''Today'' show Thursday.
A 6-year-old, 3-year-old and toddler drowned when their car plunged into a lake.
When asked about Hamm's mental health, Denison said her daughter ''had a lot of problems in her life,'' including low self-esteem. But she said Hamm was a good mother who was with her children all the time, and she said Lagrone seemed attached to the children as well.
''I would never have dreamed in a million years that she would do something like this,'' said Denison, who works for the local prosecutor. ''She knows I would have taken the kids.''
Hamm called 911 from Clinton Lake on Sept. 2, saying a car had rolled into the lake with her children inside. When officials arrived five minutes later, the rear end of the car was in 4 1/2 feet of water. The car had gone in front first.
Rescuers pulled 6-year-old Christopher Hamm, 3-year-old Austin Brown and 23-month-old Kyleigh Hamm from the vehicle, but all three children died.
Authorities have said Hamm and Lagrone were not launching or removing a boat, and it was not clear if they were in the car when it went in the water. The couple never spoke to reporters or returned messages for comment.
A check of court records indicated Lagrone was convicted in McLean County for misdemeanor domestic battery and possession of drug paraphernalia in 1995, and he was issued a citation in DeWitt County in July for failing to wear a seat belt. A check on Hamm found no prior record.
Massey ruled out life-insurance money as a motive Wednesday, but he said more answers would have to wait for trial.
He said the case has ''some similarities'' to 1994 case of Susan Smith, who was convicted of drowning her two young sons by rolling her car into a South Carolina lake with the boys strapped into their car seats, but he would not elaborate.
''We do have a motive, and I think that the jury will take a quick look at it and will agree with us,'' Massey said Thursday on ''Today.''
The DeWitt County state's attorney recused himself from the case because Denison works for his office. The appointed special prosecutor, Roger Simpson, a private attorney in Monticello, did not return a message left on his answering machine Wednesday.
The charges didn't surprise Diana Todd, who lived near Hamm in this community of 7,500 about 140 miles southwest of Chicago.
''Something just wasn't right about it,'' Todd said. ''I'm a parent of three children myself, and I just could not see three children going into the water and not doing nothing. I would have died trying to get them out.
''We still have the question of why. But this I think is going to help give a lot of us some closure, too, on why.''
