Shaquan Duley "Remorseful," Says Lawyer of S.C. Mom Charged with Sons' Deaths

By: Naimah Jabali-Nash
Topics: Daily Blotter

Shaquan Duley Makes First Court Appearance, Lawyer Says She's Remorseful

Shaquan Duley (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (CBS/WLTX) Shaquan Duley, the South Carolina mother accused of suffocating her two young boys and staging an accident to cover it up, made her first court appearance Wednesday morning.

Duley faces two murder charges in the death of her sons, 18-month-old Ja'Van and 2-year-old Devean, according to CBS affiliate WLTX.

"She's been very sad, very remorseful about all this stuff, all the allegations," said defense attorney Carl B. Grant after a brief hearing in Orangeburg.

Duley held her head down and said nothing during the hearing.

"I know the world wants to know, 'What happened with Shaquan Duley?' That will come out," said Grant.

Duley originally told authorities that the children drowned when their car careened into the Edisto River Monday and that she couldn't manage to get the children out, but, according to Orangeburg County 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 her two children by putting her hand over their mouths at a local motel.

According to investigators, Duley then strapped the boys' lifeless bodies into child safety seats inside a car, and drove to the Edisto River where officers believe she allowed the car to roll into the river from a boat ramp, reported WLTX.

There were homes near the 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. 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.

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

Duley lived with her sons, a 5-year-old daughter and her mother in a rented home along a street cluttered with boarded-up, abandoned houses in Orangeburg, approximately 35 miles south of the Columbia, the state's capital.

Unemployed and estranged from the children's father, Duley relied on her mother to financially support her and her three children, said Williams.

A circuit court judge will decide whether Duley will get bail. A date has yet to be scheduled for that hearing.

The funeral for Ja'Van and Devean is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at St. Paul Baptist Church in Orangeburg. Duley's daughter is now in the care of her mother.

MORE ON CRIMESIDER.
August 17, 2010 - Shaquan Duley: Mother Confessed to Killing Her Two Children Before Driving Car into River, Say Police

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by pirhana1 August 22, 2010 8:05 PM EDT: We as people of the United States all have different outlooks in life and many of us struggle along the way. I feel in this case that she was sent over board and decided to take the children's life where it would be less stress for her in the future due to lack of responsibility. I feel she needs a lot of mental evaluation and therapy to see why she actually done what she did. We has human beings will never know why she done what she did that day, and the only person that knows that is her. The court needs to find out why it happened and form a positive solution so that other people who decide to do this will see it's no laughing matter and there is a punishment for the out come of what we do. Our children is a gift from god, not something to throw away.; Reply to this comment


by dlmills August 22, 2010 1:24 AM EDT: oh boo-hoo-hoo, her mother was giving her crap. Yeah join the club. We all don't go around smothering our kids, pets, and family members. Welcome to the real world.; Reply to this comment


by coolg53 August 20, 2010 9:51 PM EDT: WE ALL GO THROUGH LIFE WITH ONE PROBLEM ARE ANOTHER BUT THAT DONT MEAN WE CAN JUST TAKE SOME LIFE BECAUSE WHAT WE ARE GOING TROUGH THEM LIITLE BOYS DID NOT ASK TO BE BORN THAT WAS HER WHO DECIDE TO HAVE THEM SOME ONE WOULD HAVE LOVE TAKE CARE OF THOSE CHILDREN IF SHE FEEL THAT SHE COULD NOT TOOK THEM TO A LOTS OF PLACES AND TOLD SHE COULD NOT TAKE CARE OF THEM IN STEAD OF KILLING THEM NOW THEY DEAD AND SHE LOCK UP WHAT NOW ARE SHE FREE BEEN LOCK UP PROVELY FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE THINKING ABOUT WHAT SHE DONE TO HER OWN LOVING LITTLE BOYS BUT THEY ARE SAFE IN GOD HAND WE CANT JUDE YOU ONLY GOD CAN BUT I HOPE THAT THEY MAKE A BETTER LIFE FOR THE DAUGHTER BECAUSE SHE GOING TO NEED A LOTS LOVING TENDER CARE AND WE WILL KEEP THE FAMILY IN PRAY; Reply to this comment


by Wildwood1966 August 20, 2010 10:06 AM EDT: not only did she kill them - she thought about this and how to do it - I agree get the daughter away from Grams; Reply to this comment

by khd1122 August 19, 2010 10:20 PM EDT

Who wrote this???? Really?

"rented home along a street cluttered with boarded-up, abandoned houses" "Unemployed and estranged from the children's father, Duley relied on her mother to financially support her and her three children"

Are you trying to create sympathy for this killer??? How about reporting on WHY she is unemployed and WHY she is living in an impoverished area and WHY she still needs her OWN mother to take care of her and her poor poor children. I teach children in rural South Carolina and there are plenty of parents and children that live very difficult lives without the support they need. It is outlandish to insinuate that those are reasons that one may decide to send her children to heaven. If it was found that the mother is of very limited mental ability, then report on that...but to publish a report (about a cold-hearted killer) that seems to try and create sympathy from the audience with it's "Poor her" attitude is, well...disgusting.

PS-Please let me know when you publish an article about the two beautiful, helpless, innocent babies that gained their angel wings and found their cloud in heaven on that fateful day.

Reply to this comment


by Wildwood1966 August 20, 2010 10:07 AM EDT: well said


by pak31 August 20, 2010 12:13 PM EDT: I don't think it sounds like sympathy at all. It's just painting a picture for the readers as to the type of environment she lives in and her financial and personal status. It's all factual information. IMO. I personally dont' think that any of the info stated here gives her the right to take a human life. There is no excuse. IMO, her attorney is the one trying to paint a picture of sympathy. He's saying that she really felt she would be free with out her kids. Like we are supposed to feel bad for her. Look at her though, not to be mean but it's got to be hard for her to do anything with that body weight and chest size.


by khd1122 August 19, 2010 10:18 PM EDT: Who wrote this???? Really?

"rented home along a street cluttered with boarded-up, abandoned houses" "Unemployed and estranged from the children's father, Duley relied on her mother to financially support her and her three children"

Are you trying to create sympathy for this killer??? How about reporting on WHY she is unemployed and WHY she is living in an impoverished area and WHY she still needs her OWN mother to take care of her and her poor poor children. I teach children in rural South Carolina and there are plenty of parents and children that live very difficult lives without the support they need. It is outlandish to insinuate that those are reasons that one may decide to send her children to heaven. If it was found that the mother is of very limited mental ability, then report on that...but to publish a report (about a cold-hearted killer) that seems to try and create sympathy from the audience with it's "Poor her" attitude is, well...disgusting.

PS-Please let me know when you publish an article about the two beautiful, helpless, innocent babies that gained their angel wings and found their cloud in heaven on that fateful day.; Reply to this comment

by mommy212 August 19, 2010 3:22 PM EDT

She is remorseful because she got caught. That being said..That 5 year old has no business with the grandmother either. She needs to be taken out of the home of the grandmother. This is a sick mess and although Grandmother didnt help her kill her kids, she helped drive her to it. I am sure if she dogged out mom the way they are saying. then she could be telling that 5 year old about how sorry her mother is. how she killed her brothers. No one wins in this situation. May God watch over those two little boys and their sister.

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by rowillia13 August 19, 2010 7:23 PM EDT: I used to live in south Carolina. I have born there. Full of crime and
Unemployment. With no support I understand how she felt struck. I know
this still does not give her the right to kill the kids. I think her
mother could have help more. But, there are two side to the story.
May God bless the daughter left behind .


by pak31 August 20, 2010 12:16 PM EDT: I can't say for sure since I wasn't there but to say that the grandmother "drove her to it" is an excuse. I would be upset too if my adult daughter with three young kids were living with me and not pulling her load. We don't know what they fought about but if this woman's only alternative was to murder her children, that isn't the grandmas fault. The woman is sick. You could beat me into the ground and tell me I am worthless but never could I ever lay a hand on any of my kids.

by gilmomuff August 19, 2010 11:01 AM EDT

Gee, I think that it kills her chances for
a go at the Presidency of the USA where
she could have been an heavy weight in
decision making !

Grrrr

Reply to this comment


by JusticeB4U August 19, 2010 11:40 AM EDT: Please join us at http://www.facebook.com/pages/In-loving-memory-of-Javan-Duley-and-Devean-Duley/146707612021216?ref=ts to insure justice is served for these two babies.


by OnTheRoad01 August 19, 2010 10:22 AM EDT: Say what ever you want to say about this, but this woman should be placed in a jail cell for the rest of her natural life, never to be allowed out for any reason. She should not, I repeat NOT be allowed to attend the children's funeral services.; Reply to this comment


by jnostromo August 19, 2010 10:10 AM EDT: Too late...she killed her children, she must now pay the piper and live with herself; Reply to this comment