`I AM SORRY ... I LEFT YOUR BABIES' FOSTER MOTHER GETS JAIL TIME IN BOYS' DEATHS.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - Foster mother Leslie Smoot tearfully tear·ful adj. 1. Filled with or accompanied by tears: tearful eyes; a tearful farewell. 2. So piteous as to excite tears: a tearful melodrama. begged for forgiveness Tuesday from the mother of two young brothers she mistakenly left to die in her sweltering swel·ter·ing adj. 1. Oppressively hot and humid; sultry. 2. Suffering from oppressive heat. swel SUV last summer and a judge sentenced her to six months in jail on involuntary-manslaughter charges. The mother of Nehemaiha Prince-Smith, 3, and Dakota Prince-Smith, 5, watched impassively im·pas·sive adj. 1. Devoid of or not subject to emotion. 2. Revealing no emotion; expressionless. 3. Archaic Incapable of physical sensation. 4. Motionless; still. as Smoot sobbed in the witness box, clutching a white lace handkerchief handkerchief. In classical Greece pieces of fine perfumed cotton, known as mouth or perspiration cloths, were often used by the wealthy. From the 1st cent. B.C. to her face. ``I am sorry for what I did. I am sorry that my mind failed and I left your babies. Please, in the name of Jesus, find it in your heart to forgive me,'' Smoot said as the boys' parents, Twila Prince and David Smith, sat in the courtroom. The prosecution asked for jail time but did not seek a specific sentence for Smoot, who pleaded no contest Feb. 5 to involuntary manslaughter The act of unlawfully killing another human being unintentionally. Most unintentional killings are not murder but involuntary manslaughter. The absence of the element of intent is the key distinguishing factor between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. in the deaths of the boys, charges that carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Her plea agreement avoided a trial on murder charges, which carried a possible sentence of life in prison. The boys died July 8 after being left in her Cadillac Escalade The Cadillac Escalade is a full-size luxury sport utility vehicle sold by the General Motors luxury brand, Cadillac. It was the division's first major entry into the popular SUV market. for five hours in near 100-degree heat outside A Child's Place, her Lancaster child- care center. In sending Smoot to jail, Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley Superior Court Judge Lisa Chung also ordered her to perform 2,000 hours of community service, undergo counseling and not do foster-care or day-care work for the five years she is on probation. ``You were taking on too much and this led to tragic consequences,'' the judge told Smoot. ``I don't want you to be in a position where that happens again.'' The boys' parents did not speak in court or to reporters afterward. Their attorney, Gregg Goldfarb, said Prince was too emotionally distraught dis·traught adj. 1. Deeply agitated, as from emotional conflict. 2. Mad; insane. [Middle English, alteration of distract, past participle of distracten, to comment. Under questioning by her attorney, Smoot said she simply forgot to take the boys out of the SUV when she arrived at the day-care center day-care center: see day nursery. and did not realize they were still in the vehicle until she went to leave for the day. Smoot said she opened the rear door to put in a bag of clothes and saw the two motionless boys, one lying behind the driver's seat driv·er's seat n. A position of control or authority. and the other sitting up behind the passenger seat. ``I picked up Dakota. I cried out to the Lord, 'Lord, why didn't you tell me the babies were in my car?''' Smoot said in a loud voice. She said she pulled the two boys out. ``I said, 'Pray, help me.' I know what God can do. My son was 17 and he got shot in the head. I know what God can do.'' As Smoot spoke, spectators in the packed courtroom began sobbing. A bailiff bailiff Officer of some U.S. courts whose duties include keeping order in the courtroom and guarding prisoners or jurors in deliberation. In medieval Europe, it was a title of some dignity and power, denoting a manorial superintendent or royal agent who collected fines and handed out tissues. ``I thought I had taken them out. It's a horrible thing to see those babies. I didn't know I had left them in that car,'' Smoot said. ``To this day, I still don't have an answer why this happened. I do not know how it happened, other than my mind failed.'' A former bus driver of handicapped children who has been a foster mother for 18 years, Smoot said she loved the boys and treated them as if they were her own. She said she has cared for 55 foster children, some of whom she adopted or became legal guardian of. ``I just love children. My calling is children. I don't do "I Don't Do" was the debut single by glamour model Michelle Marsh, released on 6 November 2006. The single reached 27 in the UK in its first week, selling only 9,000 copies and over 16,000 copies as of January 2007. The single spend a total of four weeks in the Top 75. it for the money. I just enjoy taking care of other people's children.'' On the morning of July 8, Smoot said, she had been dealing with health problems, was not sleeping well and was preoccupied with money problems and taxes she owed to the Internal Revenue Service. Smoot said she hurriedly locked the SUV and went inside the center because she was worried that no children were playing outside as usual. ``I pushed the button, locked the car and went in,'' she said. Smoot was cross-examined by Deputy District Attorney Tannaz Mokayef, who asked her how much she was paid as a foster mother, and whether she was upset that Prince had lodged complaints about her care for the boys or about a tantrum tan·trum n. A fit of bad temper. tantrum, n a sudden outburst or violent display of rage, frustration, and bad temper, usually occurring in a maladjusted child or immature or disturbed adult. Nehemaiha threw that morning because he could not wear a Power Rangers This article lists fictional characters from the Power Rangers universe who have served as Power Rangers. Unlike the List of Power Rangers characters, which lists serving Power Rangers alphabetically alongside other characters from the same fictional universe, this article lists only T-shirt like his older brother. Smoot said she was not upset by the mother's complaints. Trinity Foster Care social worker Kittie Armstrong, whose agency arranged for Smoot to care for the brothers, said Smoot was kind and patient and that the boys responded to her attention. When Smoot took the boys, they were not toilet-trained, they frequently pointed and grunted instead of talking, and kicked, hit and threw things, Armstrong said. ``The last week of seeing them, they called her `Mom,''' Armstrong said. ``They followed her around. They did what she asked without fighting back.'' Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color) Leslie Smoot, above, weeps during her sentencing hearing Tuesday in Antelope Valley Superior Court while the parents of the two boys who died locked in her SUV, Twila Prince and David Smith, right, watch and listen. (3) Leslie Smoot is hugged by a well-wisher after being sentenced to six months in jail on involuntary-manslaughter charges in the deaths of two foster children in her care. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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