Police: Shaquan Duley Confesses to Suffocating Children, Staging Their Accidental Deaths
Shaquan Duley, 29, faces two counts of murder.
Aug. 17, 2010— -- The mother whose children were pulled out of a South Carolina river has confessed that she suffocated the toddlers at a motel prior to buckling them into their car seats and driving them into the river to make their deaths appear like an accident, investigators revealed today.
Twenty-nine-year-old Shaquan Duley now faces two counts of murder for the deaths of 18-month-old Ja'van T. Duley and 2-year-old Devean C. Duley, Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams said at a press conference.
"At the conclusion of our lengthy evening last night the statement was made by the mother that she had suffocated the children and that the children were dead when they were placed in the water," said Williams.
Williams said that Duley told investigators she suffocated the two children by holding her hand over their mouths at a local motel. She then strapped them into the car seats and drove around until she found a place to get rid of their bodies, he said.
In a 9-1-1 call released today by authorities, the owner of a nearby home where Duley went after abandoning her car, alerted police that there were children trapped inside the sinking vehicle.
"Someone ran the car into the pond, and the kids in the pond," said the caller.
Listen to the 9-1-1 call here.
At about 7 a.m. Monday, the car -- with the deceased children still strapped into their car seats -- was lifted out of the North Edisto River.
"I cringe for the children," said Williams, who added that Duley has not shown any remorse for the murders.
Duley's actions may have been spurred by a recent dispute with her own mother, with whom Duley and her children lived.
"The night before the kids were placed into the river there was a dispute between Duley and her mother," said Williams. "I believe that [Duley] was fed up with her mother telling her she couldn't take care of the children or that she wasn't taking care of the children."
"I think she truly felt that if she didn't have these two toddlers, she could be free," said Williams. "The responsibility of being a mom is a bit much for her."
Williams added, "In her weakest moment -- her weakest moment resulted in the death of the children."
Duley has another child, a five-year-old, who is currently with Duley's mother, said Williams.It was uncommon for Duley to take all three children with her at the same time, said Williams, a condition that likely spared the life of her third child.
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