Mother to Oprah: SC woman charged with murder of 2 young sons was distraught

Mother: SC woman distraught before sons’ deaths

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The mother of a woman accused of killing her two young sons and strapping their bodies into a car she rolled into a South Carolina river says her daughter was in a manic state before the deaths.

Helen Duley told Oprah Winfrey on Thursday’s show that daughter Shaquan Duley (shah-KWAHN’ DOO’-lee) became irate after a fight with her mother and sister over being jobless and unable to care for her children.

Authorities say Shaquan Duley then fled with her sons to a motel, suffocated them and then staged a car accident on an area boat ramp in a coverup attempt.

“She was highly upset, raging, acting like a crazy person,” Helen Duley told Winfrey.

Shaquan Duley is charged with two counts of murder. Her attorney said he will pursue an insanity defense.

Online: www.oprah.com