Tiffanie Lucas said she accidentally shot two sons: Detective
Tiffanie Lucas (left) with Jayden and Maurice (Law&Crime Sidebar photo via Celine Tiffanie Ann/Facebook), (right) in a Bullitt County Detention Center mugshot.
A detective interviewing a Kentucky woman accused of murdering her two young sons, ages 6 and 9, by shooting the children in the head at their Shepherdsville home said in court Tuesday that the suspect claimed to have accidentally fired four shots in 30 seconds.
Tiffanie Ann Katherine Lucas, a 32-year-old from Bullitt County, is accused of murdering Maurice “Peanut” Baker Jr. and Jayden Howard in a bedroom last Wednesday, November 8th. The next day, Lucas was arraigned by video without an attorney present. A judge entered a not guilty plea on Lucas’ behalf and jailed her at the Bullitt County Detention Center on $2 million bail.
On Tuesday, Lucas appeared to have legal representation for an in-person hearing where Bullitt County Detective Richard Beahl discussed what the suspect allegedly told him about the shooting.
Beahl revealed that investigators learned from portions of witness testimony that four shots were fired within 30 seconds and that both victims were shot in the head broadcast on local CBS affiliate WLKY. When questioned, Lucas remarked, “I’m in such a bad situation” and claimed the shooting was somehow an accident. According to a local Fox affiliate, Lucas also reportedly said, “I’m so stupid” and “I would never do something like that if someone didn’t manipulate me.” WDRB account the detective’s statement.
The suspect “made statements that she was manipulated through Facebook, through the Internet or through WiFi, through Facebook and through her WiFi, and was manipulated into doing what she did,” the investigator reportedly testified.
Last week, Law&Crime reported that the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office entered the home on Bentwood Drive after 11 a.m. on Nov. 8, where a reporting witness found the victims shot and “covered in blood” in a bedroom. One complaint also stated that “there was a gun on the bed.”
After the shooting, a neighboring couple saw Lucas lying in their driveway and the man called 911 after discovering the shocking scene in the suspect’s home, Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Alex Payne revealed on Law&Crime’s Sidebar podcast. Lucas had supposedly told the neighbors, their “children died”.
Hours after first responders arrived on the scene, Maurice and Jayden died at Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville.
Col. Payne told Jesse Weber on the Sidebar podcast that the victims were shot “in an area that would not be survivable for anyone.”
“As far as we know, they were still alive when they were transported to the hospital by emergency services and died there,” he said.
The decades-long police officer said he had never seen anything like this before in Bullitt County.
“I can tell you now that in the 40-plus years I have been in this industry, I have seen three things. And it can be those things individually or in combination,” said Col. Payne. “You can have a person suffering from mental illness; You can have a person who has a drug problem. or this individual may just be that evil. Or it can be a combination of these things. Other than these three, I didn’t see any other outliers. And at the moment no one knows which one it covers.”
Lucas He reportedly once served a month in prison in a drug possession case.
In initial on-camera statements after the shooting, Colonel Payne said that Maurice and Jayden had different fathers. It was reported later that Jayden’s father died in 2019.
In the sidebar, the chief deputy said the “horrific” shooting left the community and the victims’ family members “in shock.”
“It’s shocking. It’s something you never want to deal with, but unfortunately we did. However, we have a strong community here in Bullitt County that supports the loved ones, the families of these young children,” he said .
The community held a vigil over the weekend to mourn Maurice and Jayden.
The community holds a vigil for Jayden and Maurice. It will be held this Sunday at 5 p.m. at Little Flock Baptist Church in Shepherdsville.
There will be candles, speeches and a DJ. People are encouraged to bring posters and signs to honor the boys. @WDRBNews pic.twitter.com/Krf7THYgaJ
– Reyna Katko (@ReynaKatko) November 10, 2023
There, family friend JoDee Estes told WDRB, “I feel like our system has failed them.” reported.
“At some point you have to listen when people are trying to tell the authorities, instead of the authorities just putting it away or not wanting you to know, listen to the family members,” Estes reportedly said, later adding: ” And the family will blame themselves for this for the rest of their lives, and they shouldn’t have to.”
It seems that this is what the friend was referring to Coverage of Durrell Howard, The victims’ older brother told media that family members had called Child Protective Services about Lucas in recent years.
“I should have done more,” a heartbroken Durrell Howard told WLKY. “If I was going to grab the boys from the house, that’s what I should have done and I’m going to let that happen to me for the rest of my life. For both boys.”
Watch the Law&Crime Sidebar podcast on the Tiffanie Lucas case below:
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