SC mom Shaquan Duley murders sons, cites financial woes

Susan Smith’s name has been in the news today, but not because of any new actions on the infamous murderous mom’s part.

Sadly, another mom from South Carolina has committed a similar act, with eerie and sad parallels the act that Smith forever etched into America’s collective memory. Shaquan Duley, a 29-year-old South Carolina mother-of-two boys, is said to have smothered her sons before faking a submersion accident to obscure the boys’ murders.

Unlike Smith, Duley’s story immediately raised red flags with investigators:

Duley initially told police her car careened into a river, trapping Devean, 2, and Ja’van, 18 months, in their child seats. The mom, who also has a 5-year-old child, first claimed she ran into the North Edisto River near a rural boat landing.

The mom couldn’t reach the children in the submerged car, she claimed. But her dry clothes and relative calm raised suspicions.

Duley told investigators that the responsibilities of caring for her three children (another 5-year-old child of hers was not involved in the accident) was too much for her to handle:

Duley, who will be arraigned Wednesday, later told investigators she was overwhelmed by the responsibilities of raising the kids. She showed no remorse, authorities said.

“She was fed up with her mother telling her that she couldn’t take care of the children or wasn’t taking care of the children,” Williams said. “She just wanted to be free.”