By AP/KWMU
Clinton, Ill – A woman accused of drowning her three children cried and wiped her eyes today as a judge read the murder charges against her and told her she could be eligible for the death penalty.
Amanda Hamm didn't enter a plea during her court appearance. Neither did her boyfriend, Maurice Lagrone Jr.
He is also charged in the case and appeared before DeWitt County Judge Stephen Peters minutes later.
The children drowned September 2 when the car they were in plunged off a boat ramp into Clinton Lake.
Hamm and Lagrone are each charged with nine counts of first-degree murder. Hamm asked for a court-appointed attorney today. But Lagrone told the judge he planned to hire his own lawyer.
Peters scheduled preliminary hearings in the case for January 7 and kept their bond at $5 million.