Mich. woman accused of murdering 4 teens in drunken driving wreck pleads no contest

Mich. woman pleads no contest to murdering 4 teens

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. — A woman accused of driving drunk when she caused a crash that killed four Michigan teenagers has pleaded no contest to four counts of second-degree murder.

Frances Dingle of Mount Clemens entered the plea Tuesday in Macomb County Circuit Court. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.

Authorities say the 48-year-old Dingle was drunk when she caused the March 2009 crash in the Detroit suburb of Roseville.

Jury selection had been scheduled to start Tuesday.

Defense attorney Michael Dennis had said it would be hard for Dingle to get a fair trial because of the extensive news coverage of the crash. But Judge Donald Miller rejected his motion to move the trial.

(This version CORRECTS that Dingle is 48 years old, not 47.)