Post by sclcookie on May 31, 2006 2:13:28 GMT -5
Trial for mom who 'sacrificed' sons----Woman, 23, says God told her to drop small boys into bay
A woman accused of killing her 3 young sons by tossing them into frigid San Francisco Bay will stand trial on 3 counts of murder, a judge ruled Thursday.
Lashuan Harris, 23, told police and a psychiatrist after the October 19 drownings that God told her to sacrifice her children, according to testimony at her 3-day preliminary hearing.
Judge Teri Jackson determined there was enough evidence for Harris to stand trial in the deaths of Treyshun Harris, 6, Taronta Greeley Jr., 2, and Joshoa Greeley, 16 months.
"It is a tragedy for all concerned, but I am going to follow the law," Jackson said.
Harris has pleaded not guilty to 3 counts of murder. Prosecutors have not said if they will seek the death penalty.
Her lawyer claims Harris is a paranoid schizophrenic who was acting under the belief that God wanted her to kill.
In her videotaped confession to police, Harris described how she struggled with two of her boys as she stripped them and plunged them from a pier. One of the bodies was recovered, but the others were never found.
"As hard as it is to understand the tragic act, I ask that we step back and try to wrap ourselves around the illness ... that caused Lashuan to do these acts," defense lawyer Teresa Caffese said in her closing argument.
After the hearing, Harris' friends and family tearfully recounted how the expressionless woman they saw in court bore little resemblance to the well-dressed, caring, capable nurse's assistant they once knew.
"I think she needs to go to a hospital to get help," said friend Donella Hodges. "It was not Lashuan who threw those kids into the water."
(source for both: Associated Press)
A woman accused of killing her 3 young sons by tossing them into frigid San Francisco Bay will stand trial on 3 counts of murder, a judge ruled Thursday.
Lashuan Harris, 23, told police and a psychiatrist after the October 19 drownings that God told her to sacrifice her children, according to testimony at her 3-day preliminary hearing.
Judge Teri Jackson determined there was enough evidence for Harris to stand trial in the deaths of Treyshun Harris, 6, Taronta Greeley Jr., 2, and Joshoa Greeley, 16 months.
"It is a tragedy for all concerned, but I am going to follow the law," Jackson said.
Harris has pleaded not guilty to 3 counts of murder. Prosecutors have not said if they will seek the death penalty.
Her lawyer claims Harris is a paranoid schizophrenic who was acting under the belief that God wanted her to kill.
In her videotaped confession to police, Harris described how she struggled with two of her boys as she stripped them and plunged them from a pier. One of the bodies was recovered, but the others were never found.
"As hard as it is to understand the tragic act, I ask that we step back and try to wrap ourselves around the illness ... that caused Lashuan to do these acts," defense lawyer Teresa Caffese said in her closing argument.
After the hearing, Harris' friends and family tearfully recounted how the expressionless woman they saw in court bore little resemblance to the well-dressed, caring, capable nurse's assistant they once knew.
"I think she needs to go to a hospital to get help," said friend Donella Hodges. "It was not Lashuan who threw those kids into the water."
(source for both: Associated Press)