Marilyn Edge

Case details

Marilyn Edge was a mother from Scottsdale, Arizona, accused of poisoning and killing her children in California after being taken into custody following a suicide attempt.

People

• Marilyn Edge (42) — accused; children’s mother.
• Mark Anthony Edge — father of Jaelen Edge and Faith Edge; ex-husband of Marilyn Edge; later described his reaction and efforts to fund funeral and travel expenses.
• Jaelen Edge (13) — victim; described as autistic in the case reporting.
• Faith Edge (10) — victim.

Other named individuals

• Judge Craig Robison — presided over hearings referenced in the case reporting.
• Deputy District Attorney Sonia Balleste — prosecutor referenced in case reporting.
• Cpl. Anthony Bertagna — Santa Ana police spokesperson referenced in case reporting.
• Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna
• Orange County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Jeff Hallock — referenced regarding custody housing.
• Salvador Hernandez, Scott Schwebke, Vik Jolly — named as Orange County Register reporters in the case reporting.
• Scott Schwebke — named as an Orange County Register reporter in the case reporting.
• Marian Weeks — attorney for Mark Anthony Edge referenced in the case reporting; represented him in a Georgia custody hearing context.
• Elizabeth Kuhn — attorney referenced as representing Marilyn Edge in hearings.
• Mary Ann Korre — attorney referenced as representing Marilyn Edge in a custody hearing and as commenting after the deaths.
• Marion Weeks — Mark Edge’s attorney referenced in case reporting.
• Betty Edge — Mark Edge’s stepmother.
• Mike Ramey — hotel guest quoted in case reporting.
• Mike Ramey, staying at the hotel with his fiancée, told KABC-TV: “My goodness, if there's two children involved that's just horrendous to say the least,' Mike Ramey told KABC-TV. 'As a parent, it's just a heartbreaker.'”
• Paul Anderson — named in a City News Service report reference.
• Judge Craig Robinson — referenced in another report as ordering bail and a rescheduling request.
• Elizabeth Kuhn — quoted on custody and child visits.
• Judge Craig Robison / Craig Robinson — referenced in hearings about arraignment postponement.

Timeline

• October 2009 — Marilyn Edge was given full custody of Jaelen Edge and Faith Edge; the ruling was later set aside.
• December 2007 — Mark and Marilyn Edge divorced.
• July — Marilyn Edge received an Arizona traffic citation; records indicated she was living in a condominium complex on the north side of Scottsdale, Arizona.
• September 14, 2013 — Prosecutors alleged the children received fatal doses of poison; Marilyn Edge texted Mark Edge that she would return the children on this date but instead killed them that day (as described in the reporting).
• September 14, 2013 (day referenced as part of Georgia order sequence) — A Georgia judge ordered Marilyn Edge to hand over custody of the children to their father three days before the bodies were found.
• Saturday, September 14, 2013 (event day referenced as Saturday in multiple reports) — Marilyn Edge attempted to take her life by driving a car laden with a propane tank into a pole and power box in the parking lot of a Home Depot in Costa Mesa; she was taken into custody and was placed on suicide watch.
• Saturday, September 14, 2013 (event referenced as Saturday morning in additional reporting) — Marilyn Edge crashed a vehicle with Georgia license plates into an electrical box outside a shopping complex in Costa Mesa; propane was found in the car; she refused to get out and tried to choke herself with an electrical cord/belt or rope.
• Saturday, September 14, 2013 (scene referenced as Santa Ana hotel) — Jaelen Edge and Faith Edge were found dead in a Hampton Inn & Suites in Santa Ana.
• Late Saturday, September 14, 2013 — Police obtained a search warrant for the hotel room and worked overnight on the case.
• Sunday, September 15, 2013 (early Sunday referenced) — Mark Anthony Edge was informed early Sunday by Atlanta police and taken to a hospital for duress; a duress/hospitalization event is referenced as Sunday.
• Tuesday, September 17, 2013 (hearing referenced) — Marilyn Edge appeared in court for a short hearing and addressed arraignment postponement, responding: “Only if you promise me the death penalty.”
• Monday, September 16, 2013 (autopsy completion referenced) — An autopsy was completed to help determine causes of death; toxicology results were pending.

The offence

Marilyn Edge was accused of giving her son Jaelen Edge (13) and daughter Faith Edge (10) fatal doses of poison at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Santa Ana on Sept. 14, 2013, and then attempting to kill herself by driving her car into a pole and power box in a Home Depot parking lot in Costa Mesa.

Prosecutors also alleged the children believed they were going to Disneyland and California beaches, but Marilyn Edge poisoned them in a hotel room.

Investigation and custody after arrest

Marilyn Edge was taken into custody after her car crash in Costa Mesa, and authorities placed her on suicide watch. Police said that while officers tried to get her out of the car, she tried to strangle herself with an electrical cord.

Officers broke a window and forcibly removed her from the vehicle. She told officers that her son Jaelen and daughter Faith were dead at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Santa Ana.

Deputy District Attorney Sonia Balleste said: “It appears from all the evidence that the children were under the impression that they were coming to California for beach and amusement, such as Disneyland.”

An autopsy was completed and toxicology tests were pending at the time of reporting. Law enforcement officials did not release details about a possible motive, and they did not comment on a possible motive for the killings.

Charges

Marilyn Edge faced:

• Two felony counts of murder
• Sentencing enhancements for:
  • committing multiple murders
  • murder by poison

She faced a minimum sentence of life in state prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office could decide at a later date to seek the death penalty.

Trial and court proceedings

Marilyn Edge appeared before Judge Craig Robison for a short hearing. When the judge asked if she would like to postpone her arraignment, she responded at least twice: “Only if you promise me the death penalty.”

In another related hearing context, her attorney asked Judge Craig Robinson/Robison for a rescheduling of the arraignment to confer with a psychiatrist and doctors treating Edge, and the court ordered Edge held without bail at Orange County Jail, where officials disclosed she was on suicide watch.

A prosecution statement attributed in the reporting described the case as:

“This is as cold and disturbing a murder as you will see. It's an incredibly sad situation.”

Prosecutors said Edge had spoken with detectives and that she was cooperative.

Deputy District Attorney Sonia Balleste was quoted describing the alleged coaxing:

“She coaxed her son Jaelen and daughter Faith to Orange County to enjoy some "fun activities," even though they were due back to their father who had custody of them in Georgia.”

Sentencing

No sentence was imposed because Marilyn Edge was awaiting trial.

If convicted, she faced a minimum sentence of life in state prison without the possibility of parole, and the death penalty could be sought later.

Appeals

No appeal information was provided.

Outcome

Marilyn Edge remained in custody awaiting trial.

Aftermath

Mark Anthony Edge’s postings and funeral plans

Mark Anthony Edge posted on gofundme.com and described his grief and frustration about the custody battle.

Mark Edge wrote:

“I walk away from the evil deeds of one and carry the grief of three,” Mark Anthony Edge posted on the website gofundme.com in an effort to raise money for his children’s funeral and his travel expenses to attend the trial of his ex-wife Marilyn Kay Edge.

He also wrote:

“Jaelen, Faith, I am still with you and you are still with me forever and always.”

Mark Edge stated:

“Marilyn Kay Woody-Edge was found in contempt of court after taking our children from the state of Georgia to Arizona without proper consideration of me or authorization from the presiding court,” he said.

He added:

“My attorney…. recommended that Marilyn Kay Woody-Edge be incarcerated until such time that the children were brought back from Arizona to Atlanta. The presiding Judge ignored my attorney’s recommendation and instead allowed Marilyn Kay Woody-Edge to go to Arizona to retrieve our children on her own.”

Mark Edge said Marilyn texted him:

“I have never loved anyone or anything as much as I love our children,” he wrote in the online posting. “I never thought that Marilyn would take our children from both of us.”

Mark Edge was described as hospitalized Sunday after learning of his children’s death.

Betty Edge, Mark Edge’s stepmother, said:

“He just collapsed,” Betty Edge said. “(Hospital personnel) tried, and they couldn’t get him calmed down.”

Funeral and burial

The funeral for Mark Edge’s son Jaelen (13) and daughter Faith (10) was described as being held Thursday at the Salvation Army Kroc Center in Atlanta, followed by burial in the Georgia National Cemetery in nearby Canton.

Hotel guest reaction

Hotel guest Mike Ramey said:

“My goodness if there's two children involved that's just horrendous to say the least,” Mike Ramey told KABC-TV. “As a parent, it's just a heartbreaker.”

Custody background and related claims

Mark and Marilyn Edge had been involved in a custody battle since their divorce in 2007. Case reporting said a Georgia judge ordered Marilyn Edge to hand over custody of the children to Mark Edge three days before the bodies were found.

Mark Edge’s lawyer Marian Weeks said Mark and Marilyn Edge were engaged in contentious divorce and custody litigation in Georgia and that, at a hearing, a judge ordered custody to Mark Edge. The reporting said Marilyn Edge walked out of the courtroom during the judge’s decision.

The reporting stated their elder child had been diagnosed with autism and that autism played a central role in court filings.

Marian Weeks said Edge’s former husband had been denied visits, and that Mark Edge was hospitalized after learning of the children’s death.

Elizabeth Kuhn, attorney referenced as representing Marilyn Edge, was quoted about the father’s visits affecting their son and stated:

“basically someone he didn’t know,” said attorney Elizabeth Kuhn, who represented Marilyn Edge in several of the hearings.

Kuhn also said:

“Never in a million years,” Kuhn said. “She was loving and compassionate with her children.”

Weeks said Mark Edge had custody to be returned on the same day as the judge’s order; Marilyn Edge was given until noon Sunday to turn over the children.

A text to Mark Edge from Marilyn Edge included:

“I will see you on Sunday and I have their school records.”

Marilyn Edge claimed in reporting that:

• her former husband failed to make child support payments
• children of an ex-husband friend were sexually abusing her children (allegations were said to have never been proven)

The reporting also stated that Marilyn Edge had moved to Arizona after an order for unsupervised visits and that she had an Arizona driver’s license by the time she received a traffic citation in July.

Other details

Suicide attempt and arrest circumstances

Marilyn Edge was on suicide watch after crashing her car into an electrical box/power box in a Home Depot parking lot in Costa Mesa. Officers said she refused to get out and tried to choke herself with an electrical cord as rescuers attempted to free her; officers forcibly removed her after breaking a window.

Police found propane in her car. Authorities did not say whether there was a suicide note.

After directing officers to the hotel, Santa Ana officers obtained a search warrant late Saturday for the hotel room and worked overnight.

Planned court return date

Edge was expected back in court Oct. 25, as stated in the case reporting.