Sheborah Latrice Thomas Photo: 30-Year-Old Calmly Told Friend She Drowned Two Kids
The above booking photo, from the Houston Police Department, is of Sheborah Latrice Thomas, a 30-year-old woman who is making news because of the manner in which she told a friend that she had drowned her two children — her son, 7, and her daughter, 5 — on Friday.
As reported by the Houston Chronicle, Sheborah Thomas admitted to drowning the children in the bathtub, adding that she wrapped their bodies in sheets before placing them inside a garbage can next to her home. The day after the deaths, Sheborah attempted to dig a hole next to her house but could not dig the hole deeply enough. As a result, Thomas moved her children’s bodies beneath the home of a neighbor.
Sheborah has been charged with the drowning deaths of her two children. As of Monday, August 15, she is being held without bond. On Sunday, the bodies of the children were discovered.
Did mentall illness lead to Sheborah Thomas drowning her two children? https://t.co/LIA1dcyV1o #parenting #Kayana Thomas #Oraylan Thomas
— Scallywagandvagabond (@ScallywagNYC) August 15, 2016
The fact that Sheborah calmly admitted to a friend what she did is capturing national attention. Thomas was getting rid of trash in a field when a male friend saw her. Upon inquiring about what Thomas was doing, the friend learned that Sheborah was preparing to move immediately. The man inquired about Sheborah’s children, which is when Thomas admitted she had killed them.
Due to her calm manner, the friend assumed Thomas was joking. However, upon inquiring once more about Sheborah’s children, the friend got the same response. That’s when he realized Thomas wasn’t joking — and ended up switching from helping her pack her things to driving her to a police station.
“She was so matter-of-fact about it, he didn’t think she was serious. He thought she was joking. He continued to help her pack.”
It is not known if the Houston mother had a history of mental concerns, but it is known that Sheborah has a 12-year-old son who survived the incident — because he was with his dad at the time of the drownings.
The drowning incident is being compared to another mother who drowned her children and made national news in 2001. Andrea Yates was a mother who drowned her five children in her Houston home. As young as 6 months of age to 7 years of age, the children had a mother who was ultimately declared not guilty due to insanity.
Yates went through a retrial for the drowning deaths that happened in her Clear Lake home. Andrea suffered from a severe form of postpartum depression called postpartum psychosis.
Another story of a child’s drowning death made the news recently, although it did not happen in the family’s bathtub. As reported by Fox 2 Detroit, Amber Johnson and James Johnson III were charged in the drowning death of their 2-year-old daughter in suburban Detroit.
While Amber and James were sleeping, their 2-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son were able to leave the home and climb the fence of a neighbor’s home. The 2-year-old girl climbed the swimming pool ladder, fell in, and drowned. The neighbor came outside but was not able to revive the little girl.
Meanwhile, reactions to Thomas are coming into social media. A GoFundMe page to fund the funerals of the children has also been set up and features the following description.
“Unfortunately we are trying to raise money for the going home services of our niece and nephew Kayana and Oraylan Thomas –siblings who were murdered by the hands of their own mother. Please find it in your hearts to help us lay their bodies to rest and help everyone find peace in this situation.”
[Photo by Houston Police Department/AP Images]
