S.C. Mom Arrested After Kids' Bodies Pulled From Submerged Car in River

[klaasend]

August 16, 2010
S.C. Mom Arrested After Kids' Bodies Pulled From Submerged Car in River

After the bodies of two toddlers were pulled Monday from a car submerged in a South Carolina river, their mother was arrested and authorities were investigating how it happened -- and whether it was an accident.
fox news

ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- After the bodies of two toddlers were pulled Monday from a car submerged in a South Carolina river, their mother was arrested and authorities were investigating how it happened -- and whether it was an accident.

The two were recovered from the North Edisto River after the car was found near a rural boat landing, Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams said.

County Coroner Samuetta Marshall identified them as 18-month-old Ja'van T. Duley and 2-year-old Devean C. Duley, both of Orangeburg. She would not speculate on a cause of death until autopsies are completed Tuesday.

The boys' mother, whose name was not immediately released, was being held Monday on a charge of leaving the scene of an accident, Williams said.

He said the Highway Patrol was notified about 6:15 a.m. Monday about an accident and a woman who needed help getting her children out of the car.

The children were still strapped in their child seats when divers found them and recovered their bodies about 45 minutes after being called to the scene.

"Early in the investigation, the state patrol felt there was not enough indicators to substantiate that there was an automobile accident," Williams said. "We are looking into all possibilities as to what happened."

The woman, who did not have a cell phone, had walked some distance down the country road by the boat landing and flagged down a passing motorist to call the Highway Patrol.

"She showed some emotion, but I can't say she was overly distraught," the sheriff said. "Through her statements, there are some things we think are not believable."

Williams said authorities were attempting to contact the children's father, who did not live with the family.

The sheriff said investigators are considering how a traffic accident could have happened at the boat ramp, about 20 yards upstream from a main road that crosses the slow-moving river. A mobile home, a house and mechanic's shop are a short distance away.

Local residents said they were suspicious.

Shakeyia Baxter said the main road was heavily traveled in the mornings and would have been especially busy on Monday -- the first day of school. Baxter stopped by the boat ramp, which is littered with empty beer cases and discarded soda bottles, on her way home from work at a McDonald's to tuck silk flowers into a sign that warns of high levels of mercury in the fish.

"My heart goes out to them," said Baxter, a 30-year-old mother of two. "I would have been doing everything I could to get those kids out of that car seat."

Orangeburg is about 35 miles south of Columbia, the state capital.

The incident was reminiscent of the deaths of two other toddlers in South Carolina.

In 1994, in a case that made headlines worldwide, Susan Smith left her 3-year-old and 14-month-old sons strapped in their car seats as she rolled her car into a lake in Union County in the northwest part of the state.

She was convicted in their deaths and is serving a life prison term.

[klaasend]

NEW BLINK POST:

http://blinkoncrime.com/2010/08/16/susan-smith-protegee-2-toddlers-pulled-from-car-in-south-carolina-mom-shaquan-duley-arrested/

Susan Smith Protegee: 2 Toddlers Pulled From Car in South Carolina-Mom ShaQuan Duley Arrested

[MuffyBee]

NEW BLINK POST:

http://blinkoncrime.com/2010/08/16/susan-smith-protegee-2-toddlers-pulled-from-car-in-south-carolina-mom-shaquan-duley-arrested/

Susan Smith Protegee: 2 Toddlers Pulled From Car in South Carolina-Mom ShaQuan Duley Arrested

   Poor little children 

[darla]

Press conference on Wis-tv at this time. Not sure if it is on internet. Sheriff just said children were deceased before they went in the water. She smothered them at a motel then stapped them into car seats.

arraignment at 2:00 pm tomorrow on 2 counts of murder.
www.wistv.com for news.
Good Morning Monkeys! Will update as I hear more...got a Dr. Appt. Beback later. Conference still going on at 10:25

[Blonde]

Murder Charges Sought In Boys' Deaths In SC River
Authorities Express Doubt On Mom's Account It Was Accident
SEANNA ADCOX, Associated Press Writer

POSTED: 2:02 pm EDT August 16, 2010
UPDATED: 8:21 am EDT August 17, 2010

ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- Two young boys were pulled dead from the child seats in their car in a river and a South Carolina sheriff said Tuesday he expects to press murder charges against their mother.

Speaking on CBS' "Early Show," Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams said there were inconsistencies in the mother's account that she'd been in an accident, such as her clothes being dry.

"For someone who had just plunged into the Edisto River here, of course, and had two children in the car, her clothing wasn't damp," Williams said of Shaquan Duley's initial report.

The sheriff also noted that Duley, 29, walked some distance from the car to find help when there were nearby houses.

Williams said investigators were ready to present their case to a judge in hopes of getting murder charges against Duley, who was in custody Tuesday.

Duley was arrested Monday and was being held on a charge of leaving the scene of an accident after her two sons were found dead in a vehicle in the North Edisto River, still strapped into their car seats.

Autopsies were planned Tuesday on the bodies of 2-year-old Devean C. Duley and 18-month-old Ja'van T. Duley to determine how they died.

Neither Williams nor Coroner Samuetta Marshall returned telephone calls early Tuesday from The Associated Press.

Williams planned a news conference for 10 a.m. to discuss more details.

In 1994, the state saw another case in which two sons were found dead in their car. Susan Smith left her 3-year-old and 14-month-old sons strapped in their car seats as she rolled her car into a lake in Union County in the northwest part of the state. She was convicted in their deaths and is serving a life prison term.

On Monday, Williams said that early in the investigation, state patrol officers felt the facts didn't support that there was accident.

"We are looking into all possibilities as to what happened," the sheriff said.

The sheriff said investigators were considering how a traffic accident could have happened at the boat ramp, about 20 yards upstream from a main road that crosses the North Edisto River in Orangeburg, some 35 miles south of Columbia, the state capital.

A woman who watched divers pull the toddlers' limp bodies out of the car near her home said she couldn't understand why the boys' mother didn't bang on her door for help. Ramona Milhouse, whose side porch door is steps from the river, said at first Monday she thought the boys were unconscious, until she realized their bodies were being taken to the ambulance with no attempt to revive them.

"It sounds fishy to me," the 81-year-old Milhouse said. "If that was an accident, that woman would've been over here screamin' and hollerin' and really raising the devil."

Milhouse said when she and her husband woke up and looked outside, rescue workers were already at the car, and she could see the head of one boy above the water. The car had to come from the boat landing, on the other side of a concrete bridge adjoining her property, and down the slow-moving river, said Milhouse, who's lived full-time at the riverside home for about 35 years.

"It's real low," she said, so it could have taken awhile.

The car windows were up, and she heard rescuers say the ignition was on. She watched as the car was pulled down the middle of the river and hauled onto the bridge with a crane.

Besides the Milhouses, a mobile home and a mechanic's shop are also nearby.

Local residents said they, too, were suspicious.

Shakeyia Baxter said the main road was heavily traveled in the mornings and would have been especially busy on Monday - the first day of school. Baxter stopped by the boat ramp, which is littered with empty beer cases and discarded soda bottles, on her way home from work to tuck silk flowers into a sign that warns of high levels of mercury in the fish. Lily pads dotted the dingy water by the ramp, and mosquitoes swarmed.

"My heart goes out to them," said Baxter, a 30-year-old mother of two. "I would have been doing everything I could to get those kids out of that car seat."

http://www.wfsb.com/news/24648243/detail.html

[klaasend]

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12991810

Dead toddlers' mother admits to killing them
Posted: Aug 17, 2010 7:18 AM PDT Updated: Aug 17, 2010 7:44 AM PDT


ORANGEBURG COUNTY, SC (WIS) - Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams said Tuesday morning that 29-year-old Shaquan Duley admitted to suffocating her children before putting them in her car and into the Edisto River Monday morning.

In a news conference Tuesday morning, Williams said Duley told investigators that she placed her hands over their faces and suffocated the boys at a motel before they were found dead in the Edisto River.

Duley was initially charged with leaving the scene of an accident, but Williams said he will now seek murder charges against Duley in the murder of her two children, 18-month-old Ja'van T. Duley and 2-year-old Devean C. Duley.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol was called to the boat landing at Shilling's Bridge Road around 6:00 a.m Monday for a report of an accident.  When troopers arrived, they saw no sign of an accident and asked for assistance from the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office.

Divers found Duley's vehicle about 40 minutes after arriving on the scene.  They found the two children in the back seat still strapped into their car seats.

Duley walked almost a mile before reporting what she initially called an accident.

Williams said the father of the children hasn't been found yet.

"I believe that she was just angry and upset," Williams said  "She was trying to find a way to discard the bodies."

Duley will face a judge Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.

[cookie]

this woman needs the death penalty if anyone does...cold and deliberate ...thinking only of herself..
thank God she didn't have her 5 yr old with her..or else she would be dead too..

[Nut44x4]

OMG Fry her....asap 


In this photo provided by the Orangeburg Sheriff's Department via The Times and Democrat, Shaquan Duley, 29, is shown. After the bodies of two toddlers were pulled Monday Aug. 16, 2010, from a car submerged in a South Carolina river, their mother Duley was arrested and authorities were investigating how it happened _ and whether it was an accident. (AP Photo/Orangeburg Sheriff's Department via The Times and Democrat)
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2010/08/17/sc_sheriff_wants_murder_charges_in_boys_deaths/

[Nut44x4]

ummmmmm......this is the same person 


http://www.wmbfnews.com/global/story.asp?S=12986174

[Sister]

[darla]

www.wistv.com

Shaquan Duley's 2-year-old tried to fight off his mother's suffocating hands Monday morning, said the Orangeburg County Coroner. According to Coroner Samuetta Marshall, there were signs of a struggle and defensive wounds on Duley's oldest child.

Updated: Aug 17, 2010 2:35 PM EDT
This is a video of the news conference this morning.Just hope I did it right

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[darla]

Guess I didn't get it right. But you can find all of the latest at www.wistv.com ......They have the press conference and 911 call all on this website. So very sad. God Bless these precious boys!

[darla]

No photos of the boys have been made available.

Forgot my manners.....Good Afternoon Monkeys and Guest!

[2NJSons_Mom]

Thank you, darla.  I just heard a report about her suffocating the children before letting the car go into the water.      

Those poor babies....may the rest in peace.

I also wanted to fix your video and post some of the news articles from the website, but this computer is acting up right now.  If someone else doesn't do it before me, I'll give it a try in the morning.

[Nut44x4]

SC Mom Accused in Kids' Deaths 'Just Wanted to Be Free'
Updated: 13 minutes ago

Aug. 18 -- A South Carolina mother accused of killing her two young sons was a "friendly person" who took good care of her kids, acquaintances said. But police say Shaquan Duley "just wanted to be free."

Women who kill their own children often want to present themselves as good mothers, an expert says. But secretly, they are seething with the desire to be rid of the responsibilities they feel are dragging them down.

"Many women who kill their children are seen publicly as good mothers because they often actually overdo their public persona. Their egos demand everyone think they are awesome moms, " said Pat Brown, founder of the Pat Brown Criminal Profiling Agency.

"But, inside the home, on a 24-hour basis, one will see these women show a high level of disinterest in their children, a lack of empathy for their children's needs, and a bitterness toward their caretaking job," Brown said.

On Monday, Duley, 29, told police she had been involved in an accident near a rural boat landing and her car had plummeted into the North Edisto River with her two sons inside. Divers later recovered the bodies of 2-year-old Devean Duley and 18-month-old Ja'van Duley from the submerged car.

After hours of questioning by investigators, Duley admitted she staged the accident, police said. She allegedly told police she had suffocated the children before driving the car into the river. In a chilling development, the medical examiner revealed Tuesday that the older boy's body had bruises, suggesting he had struggled with his killer.

Acquaintances expressed shock at the boys' deaths and at their mother's arrest on murder charges.

"She was such a good-natured person, very friendly, but quiet," Grace Simpson, a former co-worker at a Dairy-O fast-food restaurant, told CNN. "[She was] never disciplined. Never in trouble with our boss."

"Whatever compelled Shaquan to do what she did ... Lord, please be with her," Simpson said. "I will not judge her. But God, be kind to her."

The owner of Tiny Tots Daycare, which cared for Duley's children, told WLTX that Duley cared for the youngsters as well as any other mom.

Investigators said Duley was broke, out of work and estranged from the toddlers' father. She and her children -- the two boys and a 5-year-old daughter -- were living with her mother in Orangeburg, about 35 miles south of Columbia. The daughter had been left with her grandmother.

Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams told reporters Tuesday that Duley was angry with her own mother, who apparently criticized the way she was caring for her children. The two women had a heated argument the night before the children were killed.

"She truly felt, 'If I don't have these toddlers, I can be free,'" Williams said. "I think she was fed up with her mother telling her she couldn't take care of the children, or she wasn't taking care of the children and just wanted to be free."

He speculated that, as a result, she snapped and decided to "get rid of her children."

But, "nobody really 'snaps,'" Brown said. "We fulfill our wishes, and this psychopathic woman's [alleged] wishes were to get her kids out of her life. ... [In my opinion] this crime was premeditated and cold-blooded."

While men who kill their children often take their own lives, women who commit infanticide generally don't commit suicide, Brown said. "For the female parent, their life is only beginning the minute their children are dead. [They see] their children as the cause of their failure in life.

"Their children simply got in the way," she said. "Eliminating the children erases the mother's blemishes, removes her shackles."

The Duley case is eerily reminiscent of that of another South Carolina woman, Susan Smith. In October 1994, Smith told police that she had been carjacked by a black man who drove off with her two children in the back seat. Police later determined that she had rolled her car into a lake with the two little boys strapped into their car seats. Smith is serving a life sentence for their murders.

Prosecutors said Smith, a troubled young white woman who had been molested as a teen by her stepfather, got rid of her children so that she could have a relationship with an affluent man who had no interest in her kids. Her sons were drowned in John D. Long Lake -- roughly 100 miles from where Duley's children died.

Duley has no previous criminal record and was not taking any medication. Police said they are considering postpartum depression as a possible factor in the Duley boys' killings.

Postpartum depression was considered a major factor in the case of Andrea Yates, the Houston-area mom who drowned her five young children in a bathtub on June 20, 2001. She was initially convicted of capital murder, but the verdict was overturned. In 2006, she was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a mental hospital.

If Duley's attorneys do present postpartum depression as a defense, it won't have much of an impact inside the courtroom, Brown said.

"Most claims -- if not all -- of postpartum depression are a crock in the sense that there is not a chemical imbalance that causes women to go so psychotic [that] they kill their children," she said.

"Most women who suffer depression after their children are born are suffering from post-how-did-I-get-stuck-with-this-kid, this body, this life? They may be depressed, but it is their situation and their psychopathic personality that brings them to kill their children, and not some chemical malfunction."
http://www.aolnews.com/crime/article/police-child-killer-mom-suspect-shaquan-duley-just-wanted-to-be-free/19597692

[darla]

Here are the first pics of the boys that have been released. They are so precious! There is also an article about there funeral, I will try to bring it over, This is the link if it doesn't work for me.....www,wistv.com

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Funeral arrangements set for SC toddlers
Posted: Aug 18, 2010 10:05 AM EDT
Updated: Aug 18, 2010 12:09 PM EDT
 
Devean Duley (Source: Simmons Funeral Home)
Ja'Van Duley (Source: Simmons Funeral Home)
Shaquan Duley (Source: Orangeburg County Detention Center)
Left to Right: Ja'Van and Devean Duley (Source: Simmons Funeral Home)
 Click image to enlargeNEWS More>>Cousin of accused mother says she 'snapped'Funeral arrangements set for SC toddlersBackpack weight recommendations changeAttorney: Duley deserves presumption of innocenceGamecock players, coaches ready for training camp to endO'Burg pastor says he would have helped DuleySophomore receiver Jeffery more prepared this seasonSC may not be eligible for stimulus cash after cutting education fundingTruck driver identified after fiery wreck on I-77Saluda Co. woman wakes up to find two robbers standing over herORANGEBURG, SC (AP) - Funeral arrangements have been set for the two toddlers authorities say were suffocated by their mother, then driven into a South Carolina river.

Officials with Simmons Funeral Home in Orangeburg say services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Paul Baptist Church for 2-year-old Devean C. Duley and 18-month-old Ja'van T. Duley.

The boys' mother was charged with murder Tuesday. Authorities say 29-year-old Shaquan Duley killed her young sons, then strapped their bodies into their car seats before rolling the vehicle into a river in a cover-up attempt.

Investigators were not convinced when Duley said her sons drowned after her car plunged into a river. The local sheriff says she ultimately confessed to killing the toddlers. She's to be arraigned Wednesday.

Related stories

•Attorney: Duley deserves

[darla]

Let me try the pics again!

[darla]

Oh Geesh, blew up the page. HELP.

[klaasend]

Let me try the pics again!

[klaasend]

Such precious little babies.