[drowning] Neighbors devastated by death of Clinton children, family cooperating with police
Anne Warfield
Neighbors devastated by death of Clinton children: Police say family
cooperating in investigation
By MIKE FRAZIER -- H&R Staff Writer
CLINTON -- Family members of the three children who drowned in a car
that plunged into Clinton Lake earlier this week vowed Friday to help
bring the case to a quick and thorough conclusion.
"Despite rumors or gossip on the streets, let it be known that all
members of our family are cooperating completely and fully with the
ongoing investigation," they said in a written statement released by
Pastor Billy Bell of the Clinton Assembly of God Church. The children
would sometimes attend services there with their grandfather, Mark
Walston, Bell said.
DeWitt County Sheriff Roger Massey said everyone interviewed --
including the mother and her boyfriend -- have been cooperative in the
investigation. But, he cautioned, the investigation still could go on
for days.
"It's going to take a lot of time to investigate, and it's pretty
in-depth," he said. "It involves a lot of interviews. It involves a
lot of technical stuff with the abilities of the car and things like
that. And it's going to take some time for us to try to reconstruct
what happened."
Autopsies indicate drowning as the cause of death for all three
children: Christopher Hamm, 6, Austin Brown, 3, and Kyleigh Hamm, 23
months old.
Their mother, Amanda Hamm, placed a 911 call from a pay phone at the
west lake access at about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, saying her children were
trapped in a car that had gone off the boat ramp into the water.
Sheriff's deputies and ambulance personnel pulled the children from
the lake.
Christopher and Austin died at Dr. John Warner Hospital in Clinton on
Tuesday evening, and Kyleigh died Wednesday afternoon at St. Francis
Hospital in Peoria.
The children had three different fathers, DeWitt County Coroner Alex
Calvert said earlier this week.
Hamm's boyfriend, Maurice Lagrone Jr., has been charged with driving
under the influence "of drugs" and driving with a suspended license,
DeWitt County State's Attorney Jerry Johnson said earlier this week.
He was issued a notice to appear in court on Oct. 1.
Roger Simpson, a private attorney in Monticello, was appointed special
prosecutor over the case because Hamm's mother works for Johnson's
office. Simpson has been briefed on the investigation, Massey said.
Lagrone also was cited in DeWitt County earlier this year for failure
to wear a seat belt, according to records at the circuit clerk's
office. He also was convicted in McLean County for misdemeanor
domestic battery and possession of drug paraphernalia in 1995.
Massey didn't rule out additional charges in the case, but he
cautioned against speculating or drawing hasty conclusions.
"We're going to investigate the incident fully and determine what
happened," Massey said. "If it's appropriate at that point for charges
to be filed of something, we'll file them. If it's appropriate for
files to be dismissed, or for something to change, we'll do that."
The west boat access, where the car plunged into the water, was closed
Friday.
"Whether the ramp was part of the incident, that's something we've got
to determine yet," Massey said. "That's part of the investigation."
The public ramps at the lake were redone in 2000, said Tim Kielar,
site superintendent for the Clinton Lake State Recreation Area. The
former ramps were more than 20 years old, and the new ramps have
rough, grooved surfaces, he said.
"Whenever you've got a boat ramp, that's always a concern," he said.
"We try to make them as safe as we possibly can. But no matter what
you do, you're going to have vehicles go in the lake because people
aren't careful."
Kielar said, to the best of his knowledge, other vehicles that have
plunged into the lake were trying to launch or remove a boat. Massey
said the couple were not launching or retrieving a boat on Tuesday
evening. He earlier said the couple escaped from the car before it
sank, but declined to provide further details.
Neighbors of the couple, who live in an apartment complex on East Main
Street, were devastated by the children's deaths. Tricycles, toy
trucks and a red wagon were strewn in the yards of the apartments,
where neighboring children would play with Christopher, Austin and
Kyleigh.
Jean Maltby said the children's deaths has been especially hard on her
10-year-old son Lucas, who used to play with toy cars with his good
friend Christopher.
"He told me, 'Mommy, it's sad when you lose a pet. But these were
people,'" she said. "I've been praying with him every night and
talking with him about this."
More than two dozen neighboring children swarmed Amanda Hamm earlier
this week to express their sorrow when she returned to the apartment
complex, Maltby said.
She added Hamm seemed to be a loving mother, and Lagrone thought of
her three children as his own. Lagrone was distraught when he returned
to the apartment complex this week, telling Maltby he couldn't eat and
couldn't sleep.
Rochelle Durbin, also a neighbor to the couple, said she knows they
loved the kids. They would play with the kids outdoors, she said.
"It's a loss for all of us," she said. "I love those kids like they
were my own."
Co-workers at Grecian Gardens restaurant, where both Hamm and Lagrone
worked, have channeled their grief into a benefit dinner Sunday from 5
to 8 p.m. at the restaurant. Proceeds will help pay for funeral
expenses. Donations to help with funeral expenses also can be made at
a fund set up at First National Bank & Trust in Clinton.
A visitation for the children will be 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday in the
Clinton Assembly of God Church, and a private funeral and burial is
planned for Monday, said DeWitt County Coroner Alex Calvert.
In the written statement, family members thanked emergency responders
and hospital personnel for their efforts.
"There are no words that can fully express the pain we are currently
experiencing," they said. "The love within our family, our faith in
God, and the generous support of our friends and community will pull
us through this."
Mike Frazier can be reached at 421-7985. The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
http://www.herald-review.com/rednews/2003/09/06/build/topstory/topstory.php
--
Anne Warfield
indigoace at goodsol period com
http://www.goodsol.com/cats/
Anne Warfield
Police say answers may take long time to find
By ABBEY BROWN
STAFF WRITER
CLINTON - People here still don't know what happened Tuesday evening,
and a news conference Friday didn't answer any of their questions.
What they do know is that three children are dead after the car they
were in went into Clinton Lake. And the boyfriend of the children's
mother has been charged with driving under the influence and on a
suspended license.
"The first thing people think of is Susan Smith," said Peggy Gillmar,
owner of Mom's Cafe in Clinton, referring to the 1994 case of a mother
who killed her two young sons by driving them into a lake in Union,
S.C.
But DeWitt County Sheriff Roger Massey pointed out that the charges
facing Maurice Lagrone Jr., 28, may not be related to the drowning
deaths of Amanda Hamm's three children - Christopher Hamm, 6, Austin
Brown, 3, and Kyleigh Hamm, 23 months.
"Don't draw any conclusions or speculations because those tickets were
issued," Massey said. "Don't take that as a major portion of the
case."
Many questions remained unanswered after Friday's news conference. How
did the car get into the lake? Were Hamm or Lagrone in the car when it
went into the lake? What was Lagrone under the influence of? Is Hamm
also thought to have been intoxicated? Why were the couple and the
three children at the lake? What kind of a rescue effort did Hamm and
Lagrone make?
Massey's warnings against speculation haven't stopped the community
from talking about the case.
Joey Carballosa, born and raised in Clinton, said the rumors have been
fueled by the fact that little information has been released.
"Nobody is officially saying anything," he said, "so that means
everyone else is filling in the holes with what they think."
Carballosa sat in the center of the city's square, one block from the
sheriff's department, watching reporters leave after Friday's news
conference.
"Everybody is here," he said. "I've seen CNN, NBC, newspapers from all
over. That's also making people talk a lot more. They see all the
media here so they figure it has got to be something big."
For Lan Ray, owner of Hair Classic salon on the square, the media's
recent presence has meant "parking is more of a pain now."
"But it is just something that has to be covered, so I understand,"
Ray said.
Jared Thrasher said the media has confused Clinton residents more than
anything.
"Every time I change the channel, I hear something different," he
said. "On one station it said 'Man charged with three kids' death,'
and on another it said that it was an accident. So we don't ever know
what's going on. Of course we're going to talk about it."
Massey now calls what happened at the lake Tuesday an "incident" that
is being investigated.
The news conference was held to "help stop speculation," he said.
"I can tell you already this is not what you want," Massey told the
journalists gathered in the sheriff department's lobby. "We're not
going to be able to answer a lot of questions. This is a long-term
thing. It will take a lot of time to investigate. Our goal is to
determine exactly what happened and why.
"We're not driven by media or emotions. We're driven by facts."
Gillmar said she has heard customers speculate, but she is reserving
judgment. "I just pray it was an accident," she said.
Hamm and her family released a statement Friday saying they were
"completely devastated by the tragedy" and that relatives are
"cooperating completely and fully with the ongoing investigation."
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Clinton Assembly of God
Church. A private funeral will be held Monday.
Christopher's father is Gregory Hamm of Normal. Austin's father is
Craig Brown of Bloomington. Kyleigh's father is Shane Senters of
Clinton.
Abbey Brown can be reached at 788-1519 or abbey...@sj-r.com.
http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/4783.asp