Amanda Hamm

Background

Amanda Hamm was a mother of three children: Christopher Hamm, age 6; Austin Brown, age 3; and Kyleigh Hamm, age 23 months. The children died when the car they were in plunged off a boat ramp into Clinton Lake in Clinton, Illinois.

Hamm’s upbringing included parental divorce when she was about four, and after Danison remarried, her new husband adopted Hamm. Hamm became rebellious as a teenager, skipping school and sneaking out of the house. Her mother said she spent “a lot of hours in the middle of the night looking for her.” Hamm quit school three months before graduation and had stays at alcohol treatment centers before Danison kicked her out in 1996, when she was 20. Hamm was described as having low self-esteem and being treated for alcohol abuse, and her mother said she calmed down after becoming a mother.

Hamm’s mother, Ann Danison (also referred to as Ann Powers), described Hamm as a waitress who kept her children healthy and well-fed and took them to the park and got them involved in swim lessons. Danison described Christopher as loving the Chicago Cubs and basketball, Austin as a jokester and very smart, and Kyleigh as easygoing and quiet.

Hamm’s relationship with Maurice LaGrone Jr. was a central element in the allegations. Prosecutors alleged Hamm and LaGrone plotted to drown the children because the children got in the way of their relationship. Hamm and LaGrone insisted the deaths were an accident when the car rolled down a steep boat ramp into water after LaGrone parked too close to the edge.

Hamm had been treated for alcohol abuse and was described as having used illegal drugs during the year she lived with LaGrone.

The offence

In September 2003, Hamm’s three children were buckled into Hamm’s mother’s vehicle; it rolled into Clinton Lake off a boat ramp in Clinton, Illinois. Hamm and her then-boyfriend, Maurice LaGrone, stood on the boat ramp as the car became submerged in approximately 4 feet of water; rescuers arrived and pulled the children from the car but could not save them. Christopher and Austin were pronounced dead that day. Kyleigh died the next day in a Peoria-area hospital.

Prosecutors alleged the deaths were intentional. Prosecutors alleged LaGrone plotted the killings because the children hampered his sex-and-drugs lifestyle, and Hamm went along with the plan to save their troubled and sometimes abusive relationship.

Hamm and LaGrone maintained that the drownings were accidental and said the car accidentally rolled into the water during a family outing after LaGrone tried to back up from the boat ramp.

Authorities refused to disclose a motive in the case during the early phase, while also saying they had one and it did not involve life insurance money.

Investigation

A large number of investigations occurred, including hundreds of interviews, tests of Hamm’s car, and consultation with medical experts to justify the charges.

DeWitt County Sheriff Roger Massey would not say why investigators believed Hamm and her boyfriend committed murder. Massey said the case had some similarities to the 1994 Susan Smith case, in which Susan Smith was convicted of drowning her two young sons by rolling her car into a South Carolina lake with the boys strapped into their car seats, but would not elaborate on the connection.

Authorities said Hamm called 911 from the Clinton Lake on Sept. 2, saying a car had rolled into the water and her children were still inside. When officials arrived five minutes after the call, the rear of the car was in 41/2 feet of water.

Arrest

Hamm and Maurice LaGrone Jr. were arrested on murder charges alleging they put her two sons and infant daughter in a car and then watched as it rolled into Clinton Lake, drowning the children. Both remained in custody on $5 million bond.

Hamm initially faced murder charges and the prospect of a death sentence. She had a year and seven months in custody after spending more than three years in jail awaiting trial.

Trial

Hamm’s trial involved first-degree murder charges and a lesser charge option.

Hamm’s lead attorney was Steven Skelton of Springfield (also referenced as a lead attorney in connection with seeking to have jurors consider a lesser charge alongside murder). Skelton convinced a judge to allow jurors to consider the lesser child endangerment charge alongside murder.

Jury decisions occurred in McLean County and involved acquittal of murder and conviction of lesser charges. Jurors acquitted Hamm of murder charges and convicted her on lesser charges of child endangerment. In the sentencing related account, it was stated that a Macon County jury convicted Hamm on three counts of child endangerment, a lesser charge added as an option while she was on trial on nine counts of first-degree murder. The jury cleared Hamm of murder charges and convicted her on lesser charges of child endangerment.

During sentencing, it was stated that testimony at both trials indicated Hamm knew her children were physically and emotionally abused by LaGrone. It was also stated that LaGrone admitted he put Austin’s head in the oven as a so-called prank.

Hamm and LaGrone denied intent and claimed the car rolled into the lake after LaGrone parked too close to the edge.

Special prosecutor Ed Parkinson sought a 20-year prison sentence; reactions to the verdict and sentence included rage to tears of joy outside the courtroom.

In arguments for a maximum sentence of 20 years, the prosecution disagreed with testimony from Hamm’s mother and argued that Hamm was responsible for the children’s deaths because she put her boyfriend’s needs over those of the children, characterizing it as “a crime of selfishness.” Special prosecutor Roger Simpson asked Hamm’s mother what justice the children deserved.

Hamm insisted she was innocent during the February 2007 sentencing.

Quotes

Don Ferrill, speaking about Hamm and whether she would ever be “out of that prison,” said: “With a tragedy like this, I don’t know that you ever really get out of that prison,” and “It’s not like there's an end to this.”

Hamm told the court:

“I am now faced with a life that holds promise for me and my future and realize how ironic this must sound because Christopher, Austin and Kyleigh no longer have similar horizons to look forward to,”

Hamm also said:

“I cannot change what has occurred but I can, and will, try to live my life in a way which will be pleasing to them ... ,”

Hamm’s mother, Ann Powers, told The (Bloomington) Pantagraph that the family has “a long road ahead of us even after Amanda is released. We just want to move forward.”

After being asked about justice for the children, Hamm’s mother responded: “I don’t know how to answer that. I loved my grandchildren, and I love my daughter,”

Jerry Watkins said:

“That's between her and the Lord,”

Watkins also said:

“That's the way the law seen it.”

Other trial participants and remarks

Ken Tupy, an attorney with the state Prisoner Review Board, said Hamm would have to undergo mental health counseling and meet with drug- and alcohol-abuse counselors, who would decide if she needed treatment.

Department of Corrections spokesman Derek Schnapp declined to discuss Hamm’s destination.

Special prosecutor Roger Simpson and special prosecutor Ed Parkinson are mentioned in connection with sentencing positions and commentary.

Defense attorney Steve Skelton said after the hearing that Hamm could spend slightly more than a year in prison after she received credit for three years in the county jail awaiting trial and day-for-day credit available to her for good behavior in prison, and called the verdict “excellent.” Skelton also said he worried about Hamm’s ability to get a fair trial given the amount of media coverage.

McLean County jury acquitted Hamm of murder charges, choosing the lesser charge.

Sentencing

During February 2007 sentencing, Hamm was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in the drowning deaths of her children after she was convicted of child endangerment.

It was stated that Hamm was convicted in December of child endangerment but acquitted of first-degree murder charges in the September 2003 drowning deaths of Christopher Hamm, 6, Austin Brown, 3, and Kyleigh Hamm, 23 months, in Clinton Lake.

It was stated that Hamm’s attorney said credit for more than three years she already served awaiting trial and sentencing and credit for good behavior could reduce the term, and that Hamm could be released in 14 months. However, the later account states Hamm was released on September 9, 2008 after serving five years.

Judge Stephen Peters handed down the sentence. The judge said his sentence was based in part on Hamm’s potential for rehabilitation and he did not believe she would commit a similar crime again. He also said the sentence factored in her failure to protect the children and sends a message to deter others from such crimes.

Peters took several factors into consideration, including a prior record that included numerous traffic violations and five misdemeanor convictions, along with Hamm’s potential for rehabilitation.

The judge also noted that Hamm used illegal drugs during the year she and the children lived with LaGrone.

During sentencing, Judge Peters stated:

“These were three children who had no means of defending themselves,”

Judge Peters also stated:

“They were three children who had no means of defending themselves,”

The prosecution asked for a 20-year prison sentence and argued that Hamm’s children paid “the ultimate price,” a position included in the sentencing account. Special prosecutor Ed Parkinson said he was disappointed because justice wasn’t done for the children. Special prosecutor Roger Simpson also joined family members in their disapproval of how the case concluded, describing the case as “about three dead children” and stating: “It's not about all the scientific crap we've heard the last three years. I'm disappointed in the verdict and sentence,” and “Amanda Hamm has not paid the ultimate price. Her children paid the ultimate price,” and describing it as “This was a crime of selfishness.”

During sentencing, Hamm told the court she regretted her relationship with LaGrone and insisted she was innocent.

Appeals

Skelton planned to appeal her conviction and filed post-trial motions seeking her release or a new trial.

LaGrone’s appeal was pending, and he argued a judge erred when he rejected a defense bid to offer jurors a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Outcome

Amanda Hamm was acquitted of first-degree murder charges and was convicted of child endangerment that resulted in death. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison and was released on September 9, 2008 after serving five years.

Maurice LaGrone Jr. was serving a life sentence after being convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of Hamm’s children.

Aftermath

On September 9, 2008, Hamm walked out of Dwight Correctional Center. She made no comment as she left the prison with her mother and stepfather. They refused to comment to the media.

Hamm declined to answer reporters’ questions outside the prison. Her mother, Ann Powers, said the family had “a long road ahead of us even after Amanda is released. We just want to move forward.”

It was stated that Hamm reportedly headed to a Chicago halfway house, while Ken Tupy and the Department of Corrections spokesman Derek Schnapp declined to discuss Hamm’s destination.

Residents in Clinton, Illinois wondered why Hamm was free after serving just less than five years while LaGrone remained incarcerated.

Don Ferrill said he met Hamm in the DeWitt County Jail not long after her arrest. Ferrill said he exchanged letters with Hamm while she was in prison and visited behind bars, and he said she was smart and a good writer but someone who “didn't give a hoot” when she was younger, leading her to quit school and make “a lot of bad decisions.” Ferrill said he had no idea exactly what happened when the children died or what led to their deaths, stating:

“I don't know if she and Maurice knows what happened,”

Ferrill also said he didn’t know Hamm’s plans for after release.

Several individuals commented on the justice system and Hamm’s release, including Dan Senters, who said:

“Her kids are dead; she's at least partly responsible for that,”

Marilynn Blair said:

“I don't know how she could show her face in town,”

Jerry Watkins said:

“With a tragedy like this, I don't know that you ever really get out of that prison,”

A number of people compared the tragedy to Susan Smith, and others believed Hamm was controlled by LaGrone, that LaGrone manipulated her into committing the crime, or that Hamm had been fully aware and participated.

Ferrill said Hamm was headed to a halfway house in Chicago and that he met her outside the prison in Dwight.

Additionally, it was stated that LaGrone’s life sentence had no chance of parole and that LaGrone was serving his time in Pontiac, Illinois. It was also stated that the prison was threatened with closure due to lack of funds.

Timeline

• 1996 — Hamm was kicked out of her house by her mother when she was 20 and had stays at alcohol treatment centers.
• 2003 (Sept. 2) — Hamm called 911 from Clinton Lake saying a car had rolled into the water and her children were still inside; the children were trapped in the car and Christopher and Austin were pronounced dead that day.
• 2003 — Hamm and her then-boyfriend, Maurice LaGrone, stood on the boat ramp as the car became submerged in approximately 4 feet of water; Kyleigh died the next day in a Peoria-area hospital.
• 2003 (September) — The children were buckled into their mother's vehicle when it rolled into Clinton Lake.
• 2006 (April) — LaGrone was convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of Hamm’s children.
• 2006 (December) — Hamm was convicted in December of child endangerment.
• 2007 (February 1) — Hamm was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
• 2008 (September 9) — Hamm was released from Dwight Correctional Institute.