A 31-year-old mother has been sentenced for causing the death of her two daughters after leaving them in a car during sweltering weather while she gambled at a casino in North Carolina, U.S.
Launice Shanique Battle was sentenced on Thursday, July 25, 2024, after pleading guilty to the murder of her daughters, Trinity Milbourne, aged two, and Amora, aged three. An autopsy revealed that the girls died of hyperthermia, a condition that occurs when the body is exposed to extremely high temperatures.
Battle will serve a sentence of just over seven years, with the possibility of up to ten and a half years. She was initially charged with two counts of felony murder, facing a potential 80-year sentence. However, she reached a plea deal with the prosecution and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The judge determined that her guilty plea demonstrated acceptance of responsibility, warranting a lesser sentence.
Battle was arrested on August 27, 2022, after leaving her children in a car while gambling for six hours at a casino in Raleigh. On that day, she parked her car partially in the shade as temperatures soared to 35°C. Reports indicate that she left the children at 2:30 pm and only returned at 8:30 pm, finding them unconscious. She rushed the girls to the hospital, where they were pronounced dead. A medical report stated that the girls’ remains were already in stages of “mild decomposition” when they were found.
Meanwhile, Battle’s cousin, Keisha Harris, spoke to WRAL, describing her cousin as a responsible parent who made a “careless mistake.” “She was a young girl who might have been experiencing depression or whatever the case may be. She just made a bad decision,” Harris said. “She was always there. She’s a caring and loving mother to her kids at the end of the day. She’s not a cold-blooded murderer. She’s not a killer.”
Another cousin, Lisacious Williams, expressed the family’s unwavering support, saying, “We love Launice no matter what, and we will support her no matter what.”
