An Atlanta woman has been indicted on multiple charges of murder in connection with the deaths of her two youngest sons, who were found dead with their heads in an oven, according to autopsy reports obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The medical examiner could not determine the exact manner of homicide and cause of death, attributing the deaths to “violence of unclear etiology.”
Lamora Williams — who is also known as “Redd,” according to the indictment filed Feb. 2 with Fulton County Superior Court — faces multiple charges of murder in connection with the deaths of 2-year-old Ke’Yaunte Penn and 1-year-old Ja’Karter Williams.
The boys were found with their heads trapped in a tipped-over oven, according to the autopsies.
In addition to the six murder charges, the 24-year-old mother was also indicted on a charge of making a false statement and two counts each of aggravated assault and concealing a death.
The medical examiner couldn’t rule out that the boys had been strangled before being placed in the oven, but neither boys’ body had broken bones or blunt force trauma. They were not burned, according to the reports, but their bodies were damaged by the electrical oven.
“These thermal changes appear to be entirely from dry heat and changes from prolonged exposure to heat,” the examiner wrote in both autopsy reports. “It would require an extensive amount of time to get to this degree.”
On Oct. 13, 2017, Williams made a 911 call in which she admitted her biggest fear was getting in trouble.
More than two minutes and 20 seconds passed before she told the dispatcher where she was located.
She said several times that she was at work and had left her three sons with a cousin, who left them all alone at the Oakland City West End apartment on Howell Place.
“This is so serious; I’m so scared,” Williams told the dispatcher. “I don’t want to get locked up because I was at work.”
The dispatcher tried to calm Williams and promised to send help, but Williams repeated herself, saying it wasn’t her fault.
A grand jury disagreed.
The boys’ injuries were confined to their heads and necks, but the medical examiner said Penn, the 2-year-old, appeared to have been pulled slightly from the oven.
Williams’ 3-year-old son, Jameel, was home and unharmed when his brothers died, which is why Williams was also indicted on three charges of cruelty to children. Williams’ eldest child, a 6-year-old girl, was safe with family and not home that night, police said.
Family members previously told The AJC that Williams was overwhelmed by having so many young children and not enough help with childcare. Her sister and mother said they believe Williams had undiagnosed mental health issues that affected her decision-making skills and led to her breakdown.
When asked if she believed Williams could do such a thing as murder two of her children, sister Tabitha Hollingsworth said, “Yes.”
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