Scharron Renea Dingledine, 26, of Columbia, Mo., will undergo a mental evaluation after allegedly driving her children into the Kansas River, authorities said. (Douglas County Sheriff's Office)
A 26-year-old Missouri woman faces charges of first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder after loading her children into a car she allegedly stole and driving the vehicle into the Kansas River, according to reports.
The woman, identified as Scharron Renea Dingledine, of Columbia, and her 1-year-old son were rescued Friday, but the body of her 5-year-old daughter was pulled from the river Saturday, near Lawrence, Kan., Kansas City’s FOX 4 reported.
Dingledine had no known connection to Lawrence or Kansas, the Lawrence Journal-World reported.
Just hours earlier, Dingledine had been released from a 24-hour hold in a mental institution, the daughter’s father told the Kansas City Star.
“She didn’t want anybody to have her kids,” the father, Clinton Bradley, told the newspaper. “She thought someone was going to take them from her.”
“She didn’t want anybody to have her kids. She thought someone was going to take them from her.”
Dingledine was admitted into the psychiatric facility following a domestic violence dispute with the father of the boy, Bradley said.
Upon her release, she was scheduled to have a meeting with state Social Services officials, prompting her fears about losing her children, Bradley told the Star.
On Tuesday, a lawyer representing Dingledine said she wanted her client to undergo a mental evaluation to assess her competency to stand trial, FOX 4 reported.
Judge Peggy Kittel granted the request, the Journal-World reported.
The boy remained in intensive care, the station reported. Dingledine’s medical condition after being rescued from the river was not available.
She was being held on $1 million bail, with her next court hearing scheduled for Aug. 28, the Journal-World reported.
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