August 17, 2010 11:28 AM

Shaquan Duley: Mother Confessed to Killing Her Two Children Before Driving Car into River, Say Police

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Naimah Jabali-Nash
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Daily Blotter

Shaquan Duley: Mother Confessed to Killing Her Two Children Before Driving Car into River, Say Police

Shaquan Duley (WLTX)

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (CBS/WLTX) A South Carolina sheriff says Shaquan Duley, mother of two toddlers found dead in a vehicle in the Edisto River Monday, has confessed to suffocating the children before driving the car into the river with the children strapped into their car seats.

Duley originally told authorities that the children drowned when their car careened into the river and that she couldn't manage to get the children out of the car, but, according to Sheriff Larry Williams, the 29-year-old mother later told police that she was "distraught" after a dispute she allegedly had with her own mother and killed 18-month-old Ja'Van Duley and 2-year-old Devean Duley by putting her hand over their mouths.

Williams says that Duley then strapped the children into her car and drove the vehicle into the river Monday morning.

Williams told the CBS Early Show Tuesday that there were inconsistencies in Duley's initial story, one glaring fact being that her clothes were dry, he said.

"For someone who's just plunged into the Edisto River, and has two children, the clothing wasn't damp as though she tried to retrieve the children from the river," Williams said.

There were homes near the South Carolina Shillings Bridge Road where the tragic incident occurred. However, Shaquan Duley walked three-quarters of a mile from the river and found a driver who had a cell phone, according to CBS affiliate WLTX. The driver then called police.

The two boys were dead when the divers got to the car near a rural boat landing about 45 minutes later, said Williams.

"Hopefully upon our presentation of the facts of the probable cause...they will issue a warrant for murder," Williams said.

An autopsy report on the children is not yet complete.

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

Duley was originally charged Monday with leaving the scene of an accident. She is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.



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by ripper0521 August 26, 2010 12:06 PM EDT
What in the world was Shaquan thinking? There are people in this world every day wishing that they could have children and cannot for whatever reason. How can you take something that you cannot give. Shaquan, yes God will forgive you and everyone else should as well. When God gets through dealing with you, you will wish you were dead as well. Rest a sure your day is coming. Yes you also deserve to get what court system presents down to you. So when you are praying be sure you ask God for his forgiveness on what you did. God forgives everything but blasphemy. God will even forgive MURDERS.
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by sistacee33 August 25, 2010 9:43 AM EDT
What was so bad that she had to kill her babies, and to top it off she tried to lie about it. I am a mother and children depend on their parents for protection, and she murdered hers. People who murder children shouldnt get rights, if it was my choice i would have pictures of her kids in her cell. She would have to look at them ever time she open her eyes. Killing her would be a scape goat, let her suffer for life.
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by debbiecakes3 August 19, 2010 12:10 PM EDT
How could you kill your own kids, I mean if you cant take care of them give them away she deserves to be put away for life.
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by joy42day August 18, 2010 8:27 PM EDT
Here is the problem with the death penalty. She would sit in a private cell for 20 or more years and automatically get up to 3 appeals. Those appeals will be paid for with tax payer dollars. If she receives life in prison, she will have to finance her own appeals. She would likely be put in the general prison population, without the privacy or protections provided on death row. It will cost more to carry out the death penalty than to house an offender for 30 or 40 years. I am appalled at this crime as well, but the fact is, the death penalty is incredibly expensive and it is you and I who pay for it. That is what I understand to be the procedure with regards to the death penalty. I do not live in South Carolina, so if it is handled differently there, someone please send in a comment about it.
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by bizzvanwa August 18, 2010 5:20 PM EDT
I can't wait to hear her lawyers explain how she "just snapped." She had her wits very much about her. It takes good presence of mind to think up a plan like killing the kids first, then sending the vehicle into the river and what to tell the police. That won't stop a sleazy lawyer.
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by JTexas1 August 18, 2010 3:36 AM EDT
Hello?? Where's the daddy(s)? Is he another case of what Obama hopes to turn the tides on, the black non-present father? He has obviously not come forward as authorities are still trying to locate him several days into this. And why was the daughter spared, who was home with the grandmother? Does she have a different father? Was the mom receiving support for the daughter and not the two boys or was the girl simply favored over the boys due to gender or her slighly older age? I don't buy the excuses that she had no way to provision for the boys-she would have been eligible for programs like WIC and she was already having housing and perhaps quite a bit of childcare provided by her mother. You don't just wake up one day and find yourself 3 kids down the road with a non-present father(s), without a job, and being supported by your mother, these things do happen unfortunately but not usually all at once, rather they are a progression of unfortunate events over time or sometimes the outcome of continued bad choices over time. She could have turned the kids over to foster care or given up her parental rights in adoption.
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by lilmama85 August 17, 2010 11:30 PM EDT
Okay, I am absolutley disgusted at this story, and for the people who have sympathy for this sick a** piece of crap that calls herself a mother. Every parent get overwhelmed. Especially with the economy the way it is. Trust me I know all about it. I am 24 years old. I am a full time college student and full time mother of four yes I said four children. Ages 6, 4,2,and 1. Most women my age cannot even handle one child let alone four at young ages while also juggling college full time. Have I been depressed? Yes. Have I been stressed out? yes. Have I thought about killing my children with my own bare hands and then trying to cover it up by staging a fake accident? Hell no. My place as a woman and a mother in this world is to always ensure that my children are protected. If I absolutley cannot take care of them, I wouldn't just kill them. There are so many women in the world with fertility issues that can never have children. And people who have them are killing them. Talk about not appreciating such a remarkable gift. I have no sympathy for this woman at all. I understand about unplanned pregnancies, I didn't plan any of mine. But I opened my arms and heart to each of them and made due with what life threw at me. There were so many other options for this woman that would have kept those babies alive. Why didn't she tap into those?
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by mrystym August 25, 2010 5:23 PM EDT
I agree with this post...these days there are so many alternatives. My inlaws and some of my family members argued with me on how to or whether to raise my Autistic son and his younger brother on my own...but I didn't let their opinions change my mind to do what I thought was right...
by mrystym August 25, 2010 5:26 PM EDT
I agree with this post...these days there are so many alternatives. My inlaws and some of my family members argued with me on how to or whether to raise my Autistic son and his younger brother on my own...but I didn't let their opinions change my mind to do what I thought was right...
by Val827 August 17, 2010 10:15 PM EDT
Please tell me I am not reading what I think I am reading. People are actually feeling sympathy for her and justifying what she did? You tell me one mother, especially those with more than one child, who does not feel overwhelmed. There are solutions other than murder. These children did not ask to be born. That was a decision she made. Those children's lives ended at the hands of ther person who they loved unconditionally and was supposed to always be able to trust. She killed them but then was able to plot an elaborate story to try to cover up the murders. This is not someone who was overwhelmed. If she could cook up the whole story then she had enough "sense" to find someone to care for those children. The woman confessed to doing this. If she had not confessed I would have said possibly she was innocent, but she confessed. I honestly am shocked that anyone would sit there and defend her actions let alone offer prayers for her. We are seeing mothers end their children's lives much too often and the excuse is always the same, I felt overwhelmed. I am a mother. I have felt overwhelmed numerous times and more so than most people could even imagine, but there is no way I would harm one of my children. There were other options. No sympathy for her from me at all.
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by ectasy66 August 17, 2010 7:10 PM EDT
I have no sympathy for this so called mother. I have 5 children and would never do this to them. It's not their fault what life throws at you, they didn't ask to be here. I'm sure someone in her family or a friend would have cared for these angels. I was a single mother of 3 children for 10 years until I met my husband, which twins came later and we did not plan to have additional children as I had a tubaligation (tubes cut/burned/clipped and tied). We bought our house in 2005 and found out a few months later we were expecting twins as we later found out that one of my tubes mended back together. I lost my job due to high risk pregnancy and we were and still are struggling due to the economy. But we keep pressing on and never would harm anyone or our children as it's our responsibility to care for and protect them.
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by openheartandmind August 17, 2010 6:23 PM EDT
HawaiiCindy-

Well-said. It is so much easier to react in anger and write people off. Your compassion is a wonderful model for all of us. While I don't understand this mother's actions (like others who posted here, I would lay down my life for my children) I can certainly choose to feel compassion for her. She must have been in terrible emotional pain and she is surely suffering now. Is what she did right? Absolutely not. But my judgement of her won't bring those children back and all of this anonymous anger towards someone I've never met will make the world a worse place. Like you, HawaiiCindy, I choose compassion.
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