Mother convicted in kids' drownings free on parole

[September 10, 2008]  DWIGHT (AP) -- Illinois prison officials say a woman convicted in the drowning deaths of her three children has been released on parole after serving part of a 10-year sentence.

Illinois Department of Corrections spokesman Derek Schnapp says Amanda Hamm left the Dwight Correctional Center Tuesday morning.

Hamm was convicted of child endangerment in 2006 in the deaths of 6-year-old Christopher Hamm, 3-year-old Austin Brown and 23-month-old Kyleigh Hamm. The children died after the family's car sank in a central Illinois lake.

Hamm's boyfriend, Maurice LaGrone Jr., is serving a life sentence after being convicted of first-degree murder.

Prosecutors say Hamm and LaGrone planned the drownings at the lake near their home in Clinton because the children were in the way of their relationship.

The couple has claimed the deaths were a tragic accident.

[Associated Press]

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