After leaving her two toddlers in a car to roast back in 2022, a North Carolina mother has pled guilty to second-degree murder.
According to CBS 17, Launice Shanique Battle reached a plea deal on Thursday that will cost her between seven and 10 years in prison for each child, or 14 to 20 years for both. She was charged with two counts of murder for the deaths of 3-year-old Amora Milbourne and 2-year-old Trinity Milbourne. The autopsy report revealed the girls died of hyperthermia with decaying presence.
Battle left the girls in the car for more than six hours while she was inside gambling.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, police were called to the hospital about two dead children shortly after 9:30 p.m. on August 27, 2022. The children’s father told WRAL that he was informed the girls were left in a hot car.
Other family members said the deaths were “a careless mistake.”
“She was always there. She’s a caring and loving mother to her kids at the end of the day. She’s not a cold-blooded murderer. She’s not a killer,” Battle’s cousin, Keisha Harris, said.
Another cousin, Lisacious Williams, said the family loves “Launice no matter what, and we will support her no matter what.”
“This was a careless mistake,” she said.
Cary police told WRAL they had no record of calls about child abuse or neglect at her address.
Battle had originally faced two counts of felony murder, which has a maximum sentence of 80-plus years. Since the courts found no aggravating factors and Battle showed acceptance of responsibility for her wrongdoing, it allowed her a mitigated sentence. She was also given credit for 667 days already served, according to Law & Crime News.
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[Feature Photo: Launice Shanique Battle/Wake County City-County Bureau of Identification]]
