Crime & Courts

Hearing set for SC mom who drove 3 kids into ocean


Wilkerson
Wilkerson

A hearing is set for Monday for a South Carolina mother who drove her three children into the ocean off Daytona Beach.

Ebony Wilkerson, 33, has been in a state psychiatric hospital after a judge ruled last year that she was incompetent to stand trial and could be a threat to herself or others.

Her attorney James Purdy told the Daytona Beach News-Journal that Wilkerson should be released, saying he does not think she fits the qualification for continued mental health in-house treatment.

The three children involved in the incident are in state custody. She gave birth to a son after her arrest, and her husband took custody of the child.

A judge previously ruled Wilkerson was not guilty by reason of insanity on charges of child abuse, and prosecutors dropped attempted murder charges.

The Associated Press

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