CLINTON, Ill. - A woman and her boyfriend were charged with first-degree murder Wednesday in the deaths of her three children, who drowned when their car plunged into a lake in September in what initially looked like a tragic accident.
DeWitt County Sheriff Roger Massey said authorities know what the motive was, but he would not provide details.
The sheriff also would not say what the two did to make the car slide off a boat ramp at Clinton Lake, killing the 6-year-old, 3-year-old and toddler inside, other than to say the car went in head first.
Maurice Lagrone Jr. and Amanda Hamm were each charged with nine counts of first-degree murder, Massey said.
Lagrone was arrested Tuesday in a motel near the St. Louis airport, Massey said. Hamm was arrested in Bloomington.
The two suspects were on the lakeshore on Sept. 2 when rescuers arrived at the scene. Hamm cried hysterically as rescuers tried to free the children.
Massey at first said the deaths were being investigated as an accident. Within two weeks he started calling them "the incident."
Lagrone initially was charged with driving under the influence. That charge was dropped last month, and Massey said Wednesday that investigators do not believe drugs or alcohol were a factor.
Clinton, a town of 7,500, is about 140 miles southwest of Chicago in central Illinois.
DeWitt County Sheriff Roger Massey said authorities know what the motive was, but he would not provide details.
The sheriff also would not say what the two did to make the car slide off a boat ramp at Clinton Lake, killing the 6-year-old, 3-year-old and toddler inside, other than to say the car went in head first.
Maurice Lagrone Jr. and Amanda Hamm were each charged with nine counts of first-degree murder, Massey said.
Lagrone was arrested Tuesday in a motel near the St. Louis airport, Massey said. Hamm was arrested in Bloomington.
The two suspects were on the lakeshore on Sept. 2 when rescuers arrived at the scene. Hamm cried hysterically as rescuers tried to free the children.
Massey at first said the deaths were being investigated as an accident. Within two weeks he started calling them "the incident."
Lagrone initially was charged with driving under the influence. That charge was dropped last month, and Massey said Wednesday that investigators do not believe drugs or alcohol were a factor.
Clinton, a town of 7,500, is about 140 miles southwest of Chicago in central Illinois.
I wanna know what f'up reason they had for doing such a thing.