An Atlanta mother of three has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing two of her sons by “putting them in an oven and turning it on,” according to a report in Atlanta magazine. Law & Crime. Lamora Williams, 24, was convicted in the deaths of Ja’Karter Penn, 1, and Ke’Yaunte Penn, 2, who were killed about an hour apart. Ms Willimas was convicted of 14 charges against her and will serve an additional 35 years in prison in addition to her life sentence.
The incident happened in 2017 when Mrs Willimas called emergency services to report she had found her sons dead in the house after leaving them with a carer. “When I came in, the heater was on my son, on my youngest son’s head, and my other son was on the floor with his brain on the floor,” she told 911 dispatchers.
“Can you please help me? Can you please tell me that I don’t want to be locked up because this isn’t my fault. I just came home from work,” she added.
Around the same time, the children’s father, Jameel Penn, also called 911 and reported the incident, saying he had received a video call from his wife.
“I just got a call from the mother of my child that… my… two dead babies, my sons are dead in an apartment. She called me on video and I saw it. I really think they are dead.”
After police officers arrived on the scene, they discovered the toddler and baby and reported that they both had burns. However, a medical examiner disagreed with the preliminary findings and stated that their heads had likely been placed in an overturned oven. The autopsy report added that the two boys suffered from “thermal changes” due to “dry heat and changes due to prolonged exposure to heat.”
“It would take an enormous amount of time to reach this level,” it added.
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Willems indicted
According to the arrest warrant issued by the Atlanta Police Department, sometime between midnight on October 12, 2017, and 11:00 PM the next day, Ms. Williams “knowingly” placed her two small children in the oven and turned it on.
Meanwhile, Ms. Williams maintained her innocence by pleading not guilty. According to Ms Williams’ mother, Brenda, her daughter was struggling with mental health issues and had to be placed on suicide watch in prison.