For most mothers, welcoming a new bundle of joy into their lives is a time for celebration. You get to watch them grow from a tiny newborn into a chubby baby, and then into an adorable toddler. You celebrate milestones such as your baby’s first tooth or your toddler’s first steps. But, unfortunately, that was not the case for the two mothers in today’s story.
Lamora Williams was born on December 13, 1992. She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, with her mother, her father, and her sister, Tabitha. Everything suggests she grew up a loved child, often called “Ray” by her friends and family. However, her mother believed that from the very beginning, she had mental health problems. She was eventually pulled out of school and homeschooled by her mother. Her mom remembers several incidents starting from when she was young, stating that she would do simple things like cutting her other daughter’s and her doll’s heads off. You know, we only can see this stuff in horror movies, and I was afraid since then.
Lamora had her first child, whom we will refer to as LW, when she was about 17 years old. However, the relationship with LW’s father was not stable, and the two broke up. She met Jabil Penn shortly afterwards, and the two began dating. Lamora was in high school at the time, and Jabil was no longer in school. They had their first child, whom we will refer to as JP, a few years later on April 20, 2014.
Three months after the birth of JP, Lamora’s boyfriend discovered Lamora’s father dead. Sadly, this was the start of a long decline for the young mother. Everyone agreed that her father had been a rock, the person who helped her with any problem she had in life. Her mother saw her mental health issues begin to worsen. A miscarriage that same year caused her mental state to further decline. While Jabil and Lamora’s relationship continued, it was the beginning of the end. After having two more children, Jakarta Rashad Penn and Keante Andre Penn, Jabil left Lamora. Jabil said Lamora was just not right; her depression slowly became more and more distressing for him.
Lamora’s sister, Tabitha Hollingsworth, was worried for both Lamora and for her nephews. She knew her sister had attempted to remove herself from this earth and believed her to be suffering from postpartum depression. Tabitha contacted the Division of Family and Children Services several times, but nothing came of it. She believed her sister to be unsupported by the father of her children and overwhelmed. Her mother, Brenda Williams, contacted DFCS and the police department as well, attempting to get them to give her custody of Lamora’s children. Brenda said she had issues and the fact that the state failed her, that is a problem. Nothing was done by the police or by DFCS. Family offered to help Lamora, worried that she would do something to herself, but she would not let them help her.
Sadly, her issues came to a head in October of 2017. Everything started with a call to 911 late in the evening of October 13, 2017. Lamora told the dispatcher that she had a question, if this is a serious matter. She reported that she left her children with her cousin earlier that day. When she arrived home that evening, she found the apartment door open. She told the dispatcher that when she went into the house, the stove was laying on my youngest son’s head and my other son was laid out on the floor with his brains laid out.
She then asked the dispatcher what she should do. When asked where she was located, Lamora seemed only to be concerned about if she would get into trouble. Lamora finished the 911 call, breaking down into tears for her children. When the police and other emergency services arrived a few minutes later, they confirmed that one-year-old Jakarta and his two-year-old brother Keante had received brutal injuries to their heads and were obviously deceased. Three-year-old JP had seen everything that night as he was there at the apartment. Luckily, LW was staying with other family members.
As police investigated and spoke to neighbors and friends, they found reason to question her story. First, they discovered she had quit her job nearly a month before the deaths, having told friends that she was not able to find a regular babysitter and that it was too difficult to work and take care of the children. However, neighbors reported that she often left the children home alone. They also reported that the apartment had smelled like death for several days, leading police to question Lamora’s timeline.
Lamora’s friend, Nisha Smith, reported that she had called her that night, telling her the children were dead and that she did not know what to do. Nisha begged her to call the police. Instead, she called the children’s father, Jabil. Jabil Penn reported to the police that Lamora had called him, telling him that she found his children dead. Jabil did not believe her, knowing about her mental health issues. After hanging up with her, Lamora called again. This time, it was a video call. She showed him the gruesome scene of his two children lying dead on the kitchen floor. Jabil then called 911 himself, left work, and rushed to her home.
Police continued the investigation, searching for the cousin that Lamora told dispatchers was allegedly watching her kids. However, according to the Atlanta Police Department, they found no one. Lamora was unable to say which cousin it was. Evidence was starting to suggest that Lamora was withholding information. The police quickly formed a different picture than what Lamora had told them. They believed that Lamora had become overwhelmed by raising the children, combined with her depression and other mental health issues. The police believed that she was neglecting her kids and was no longer focused on them. Things reached a boiling point; she may have simply been so overwhelmed that she sought the only way out that she could think of, causing their deaths, then attempting to hide the evidence.
A warrant was issued for her arrest, and she was taken into custody. On the morning of October 16, Lamora Williams was officially charged by the state of Georgia with two counts of felony murder, multiple charges of cruelty to children, and a charge of making a false statement to police. She was given no bond and was placed into the custody of the Fulton County Jail. She was placed on a 24-hour watch at the request of her mother, as Brenda was worried that Lamora might be a threat to herself and others.
A mother accused of killing her children and leaving them in an oven was preparing to fight for her innocence. Channel 2’s Matt Johnson reported live in downtown Atlanta, stating that prosecutors revealed more than a dozen charges against her, and she remained quiet in court as all 14 disturbing charges were read aloud. Prosecutors said she may have burned her own children to keep investigators from knowing how they really died.
Lamora Williams stood silent in front of a judge, accused of murdering her own two children and leaving them in an oven. She stared at a prosecutor as he read the 14 charges against her, including two counts of murder. A grand jury indicted the 24-year-old mother for the deaths of her two-year-old and one-year-old sons, Keante and Jakarta. Police found the two boys in an oven on October 13 in Williams’ apartment in southwest Atlanta. Her family members told reporters at the time that Williams felt overwhelmed as a single mother of four. When I saw that mugshot of her, I knew that was not my little sister.
Police said Williams first said a caregiver was watching the boys at the time of their deaths, but police later ruled that out. Williams pleaded not guilty through her attorney to four of the 14 charges; the other charges, including murder, were to be addressed at a separate hearing. At the time of her arrest, her family was concerned about how long she would last in jail. I just came from the jail house to let them know to put her on watch because she is going to kill herself now. Williams went back to court, and her attorney filed a demurrer that morning, which meant that they could be challenging most of the charges, including murder, in court.
This began a long, long trial process for Lamora. Four lawyers were rotated through before her defense team was finally settled. Her ongoing mental health issues remained while she was in jail, causing the judge to order a mental health evaluation in 2022. 2020 was, of course, the start of the pandemic, complicating the court timing and procedure even further. On September 29, 2020, Lamora’s lawyers requested another hearing and were able to get a bond set at $500,000. Later, they filed an eighth amendment motion either for her to be released or for her to be transferred to a safer jail. However, the motion was poorly formed, referring to Lamora Williams as a young man and as a “he/him” multiple times. This caused some to question her lawyer’s efforts on her behalf, and Lamora remained behind bars as a result.
The trial did not really start until October 8, 2024, when Lamora was found competent to stand trial and the judicial hold was lifted. While plea deals were discussed, nothing ever came of them. The jury was selected, and testimony began on November 4. The jury heard the grizzly details from multiple officers of the Atlanta Police Department as well as from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. Medical information was provided by Dr. Michael Heninger, formerly of the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office. The autopsy report was cited in court, describing the bodies as having, and I quote, thermal changes that appear to be entirely from dry heat and changes from prolonged exposure to heat. It would require ample time to get to this degree. The report was unable to determine a specific time or cause of death due to the damage from the oven, however, it was able to rule out blunt force trauma due to no broken bones being found.
Others who were called to testify were Jabil Penn as well as Lamora’s friends, family, and neighbors. The defense called only a single witness, Dr. Kyle Shaw of Forensis Knockum LLC, whose purpose was to question the cause of death. Throughout the trial, Lamora professed her innocence. In the end, Lamora Williams was found guilty on all charges on November 15. She was sentenced to life without parole plus 35 years. She was transferred on November 27 to Lee Arrendale State Prison in Alto, Georgia, to serve out the remainder of her sentence.
The community came together to help the Penn family after the death of the children. The Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home donated funeral services for Jakarta and Keante. A vigil was held at the West Hunter Street Baptist Church for the boys. They were both laid to rest on October 21, 2017, at the South View Cemetery, the oldest historically black cemetery in the city of Atlanta. Lamora’s mother and sister still question why the Division of Family and Children’s Services did not respond sooner. However, no information has been released about any ongoing investigations. JP now lives with his father full-time. Jabil reports that they talk about his brothers. His son knows that they are dead, but he still thought that they would come back. Jabil has attempted to use their story to help others, saying:
I lost my two young boys to violence and I want to be a difference maker in someone else’s life.
Our next story, although somewhat similar, has a very different ending. The mother, Ka Yang, had a large support system. Her husband was involved in her children’s lives, and two other adult relatives lived with them in their California home. They seemed like the typical family; that was until tragedy struck.
Ka Yang was born in November of 1981 at the Rhode Island Hospital located in Providence. Her parents, Chaku and Cha Chongyang, were of Hmong descent. A chubby child with no health issues, she was often seen at play with friends and siblings. Ka Yang’s family moved to Banning in Southern California when she was young. After graduating high school, she went to Sacramento State University, where she met, courted, and eventually wed Chilo Thore. They had four children together, the eldest being three brothers; the youngest, Mirabel, is the subject of today’s story.
Ka Yang suffered from epileptic seizures starting at the age of 13. Her mother reported that the first one came on suddenly, happening while Ka Yang was at her brother’s house. She woke up unable to remember the seizure, and her tongue was always bleeding. It was, unfortunately, the first of many seizures. Court records suggest that by the time Mirabel was born, Ka Yang had likely suffered from over 100 seizures. While she was medicated for them, Ka Yang did not think that the medication was helpful. There was a recurring pattern of her passing out, falling down, and usually suffering from memory loss when the seizures happened.
Her husband described the seizures vividly, stating that her hands would tighten, she would drool, and fall. Her body would shake, and she would make incoherent noises. He stated that she sometimes lost control of her bladder. He had never seen her standing or moving during the seizure before, and she often took several hours to come back to normal. Several other family members and friends were accounting for her trying to stand or move during the seizure, but all agreed that she showed a lack of understanding of what happened when the seizure was over.
Mirabel was born the beginning of February in 2011. An adorable baby, she was surrounded by much of her immediate and extended family for her entire life. Besides her parents and siblings, her maternal grandmother and her uncle, Voo, also lived with her in her Sacramento home. Ka Yang worked from home, taking care of her and her siblings. Her husband was a long-haul truck driver and was often on the road for days at a time. The morning of March 17, 2011, started like many others. It was a mild, overcast day, and Ka Yang woke to feed Mirabel at around 5:00 a.m., just before the sun came up.
Ka Yang then left Mirabel with her mother so she could run an errand. Soon after, she came home and started getting her sons ready for school. Cha walked the two older boys to school before coming home and taking care of yard work. The morning progressed like any other day—breakfast, a bottle for Mirabel, and Ka Yang working on her computer. Chilo was in and out of the house and reported that Mirabel seemed a little fussy, but no more than any other day. Ka Yang’s husband, Chilo, stated that he spoke to his wife on the phone every day, but there was nothing different about that day in particular. Ka Yang did not seem unusually frustrated or stressed out; it was a normal day in the household.
However, things changed that afternoon. Mirabel’s uncle left to pick up the two oldest boys from school around 1:55 p.m. Chilo was back to working in the yard outside. Ka Yang went back inside the house. She was greeted with an odd sight. Ka Yang was standing with Mirabel wrapped tightly in a blanket. Ka Yang told her mother that Mirabel needed to go to the hospital as she was sick. However, according to Cha, Ka Yang did not look well. She noticed that her daughter’s face was red; she was sweaty, her pants were soaked at the thighs, and she was having problems speaking. It sounded like she had bit her tongue.
She opened her granddaughter’s pajamas and saw burn marks on the baby’s chest. The skin was literally peeling off of the baby. Her body was physically hot to the touch, warmer than being in pajamas and a blanket would suggest. Meanwhile, Voo came home with the two boys and could see his sister-in-law and mother-in-law standing just inside the door. Voo told him that she thought Ka Yang had a seizure and had to call 911. The call was placed at 2:09 p.m., less than 5 minutes after he arrived back in the house. The call was placed, and Voo passed along the information that his sister-in-law had a seizure and had possibly dropped or fallen on the baby. He attempted CPR on the child at the dispatcher’s direction, to no avail.
Paramedics and firefighters arrived less than 10 minutes later. Firefighter Brandon Gob saw Ka Yang kneeling next to Mirabel on the couch. He did not notice anything off about Ka Yang, but he was not looking for it either. Another firefighter spoke to Ka Yang, who told her that she was working, had a seizure, and dropped baby Mirabel onto the heater. She appeared to be calm and alert, not showing any signs of being disoriented or having memory issues. A police officer on the scene who spoke to Ka Yang did not notice anything that suggested a seizure and described her as being fairly calm. While examining the scene, he found a blue pacifier in the microwave. Sadly, Mirabel was formally pronounced dead at 2:25 that afternoon.
It took 3 months of investigation before the police were able to conclude what happened to Mirabel. The little girl had suffered extensive burns, having second and third-degree burns on approximately 56% of her body. She also had multiple internal burns. The autopsy suggested that Mirabel’s stomach and small intestine had been essentially cooked. However, these injuries were inconsistent with being next to a heater, even if Mirabel had been placed there for 4 to 5 minutes. The investigation dragged on due to how unique and odd the injuries were. It was only by researching cases with similar injury patterns that police were able to provide a troubling theory.
Police have arrested a California mother after an investigation found her six-week-old baby girl died inside this home from burns suffered in a microwave oven. The child sustained unusual and rare thermal burns. The investigation revealed that these burns were consistent with only three other cases in this country with similar type injuries, and it was determined those injuries occurred as a result of being burned in a microwave oven. Ka Yang is being held without bail on suspicion of murder. The baby’s death actually took place in March, but it took investigators months to determine the exact cause of death. Her neighbors were shocked.
It was just unbelievable, it is mind-boggling, something you would hear in a horror story.
Neighbors said the 29-year-old seemed like a typical mother.
She seemed really nice; the husband is really nice. Every time I mow the lawn, he will come out and we always talk. I know they are church members.
So, police do not know the motive for the crime but said if a mother does not want a child, there are places to drop them off, no questions asked. They take them to a firehouse or even a hospital, and then that child gets the love and attention in a family that they really deserve.
Yang has three other children, all boys, who are now staying with relatives.
On June 23, 2011, Ka Yang was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, assault on a child resulting in death, and the use of a deadly and dangerous weapon in the commission of murder. The trial itself focused heavily on expert testimony and the interviews of folks who came into contact with Ka Yang before and after Mirabel’s death. One expert for the state testified that Mirabel was in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes at a minimum to cause the type of grievous injuries she had sustained, both internally and externally. Another described how the microwave in question worked, showing that simply pushing one or two buttons would not cause the microwave to work as long as it likely had. It took an absolute minimum of three presses of two different buttons to function for that length of time.
The state’s neurologist, Dr. David Trayman, testified that Ka Yang’s seizures were generalized onset, which would result in her falling down and biting her tongue. The defense’s neurologist, Dr. Paul Garcia, believed that she suffered from multiple kinds of seizures, some of which would allow people to, in his words, still do some automatic things. A police officer testified that Ka Yang had told them she knew she had a seizure because she had urinated on herself and could not remember what had happened. However, he did not recall smelling urine or noticing that Ka Yang’s pants had looked wet.
Last of the major witnesses for the state was Dr. Angela Vickers, baby Mirabel’s pediatrician. She testified that Ka Yang was screened for various postpartum mental disorders. According to Dr. Vickers, many of the stressors that have been identified as risk factors for developing postpartum simply were not present in Ka Yang. There were no signs of family violence, marital issues, lack of support from family, complications, or other things of this nature. However, Ka Yang’s story remained the same. She said she was holding the baby, had a seizure, she came to, and she did not know what had happened.
In April of 2011, Ka Yang told a Child Protective Services worker that she went blank and woke up in bed. Voo, her brother-in-law, repeated the same story. Dr. Philip Resnik, a psychiatric physician, told the jury that the defendant most likely killed Mirabel while in a postictal state following a seizure, which is to say, while she was confused and acting on autopilot. However, Ka Yang’s psychiatric report came into play, which showed a history of experiencing auditory hallucinations prior to coming into custody, including multiple just one week after giving birth to Mirabel.
Ka Yang was convicted on all charges on November 13, 2015. She was sentenced to 26 years in the California Department of Corrections on December 18, 2015. Unlike most trials, this one was not over quite so easily. While appeals of major cases are common, this one touched on a topic of interest to the court of appeals, specifically alleging that Ka Yang’s mental health records had been allowed into evidence without any direct relation to the topic at hand. The District Court also allowed testimony of postpartum mental health issues without sufficient factual basis to have them referenced in court. After all, Mirabel’s pediatrician specifically testified that Ka Yang showed no symptoms of postpartum issues.
On July 28, 2021, these combined major errors led the court of appeals to reverse the conviction, allowing Ka Yang to go free. Baby Mirabel was laid to rest in a private ceremony in Sacramento. However, the family suffered another tragedy. While Ka Yang was in custody, in June of 2014, Ka Yang’s sister, Nou Yang, passed away from a seizure at her family home. She also suffered from epilepsy, just like Ka Yang did.
We know a lot of our listeners might stop to wonder if postpartum psychosis could have played a role in these two stories. In the case of Ka Yang, that diagnosis was ruled out by Dr. Vickers during her initial trial. Lamora Williams’ sister, Tabitha, wondered if she had been suffering from postpartum depression, but it appears that avenue was never explored by her defense, despite Lamora’s history of mental health issues. However, from the sounds of it, her defense team did not really give her the best representation either.
Now, moms, if you are dealing with thoughts of harming yourself or your babies, please know that there is no shame in reaching out for help. We all know that motherhood can be overwhelming at times, especially in today’s economy and especially if you do not have a good support system in place. Please do not feel afraid to reach out for help. We need you here, alive, healthy, and taking care of your little ones, because they need their mothers too.
