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Natashay
Yvonne WARD
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics:
Parricide
Number of victims: 3
Date of murders: January 2005
Date of arrest:
February 4, 2005
Date of birth: 1974
Victims profile: Her
three children Shanieka, 11, Latricia, 9,
and Christopher Ward, 8
Method of murder:
Starving to death
Location: Huntsville,
Alabama, Madison County,
USA
Status:
Pleaded
guilty to three counts of reckless murder on February 7, 2007, and
was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences
The bodies of Ward's children - Shanieka Y. Ward, 11; Latrica L.
Ward, 9; and Christopher O. Ward, 8 - were discovered Feb. 4,
2005, in her southwest Huntsville apartment. Huntsville police
said they were starved to death.
Ward pleaded not guilty to
capital murder charges because of mental disease or defect in
2006. A prosecutor said she prayed for her children as they
starved to death in her dark apartment and stayed with them for at
least a week after they died.
Ward pleaded guilty to three counts of reckless
murder Feb. 7, 2007, and was sentenced to three consecutive life
sentences by Circuit Judge Loyd H. Little Jr.
According to Alabama Pardons and Parole
guidelines, Ward, who was 32 when she was sentenced, will be
eligible for parole in 42 years.
Mother Accepts Plea Agreement in Deaths of
Her 3 Children
Natashay Ward Accepts Plea for Killing Her
Children
By Angelique Dulac - Yahoo.com
Februry 8, 2007
A woman who killed her three children in
Huntsville, Alabama in February of 2005 accepted a plea agreement
with the District Attorneys office on the morning of February 8,
2007.
The woman, Natashay Ward was charged with the
murder of her three children Shanieka 11, Latricia 9, and
Christopher who was 8. The State conceded that Ward starved her
children to death. It was reported that the children had not been
to school in some time and the power was turned off at the Patton
Road home. Ward stated that the children had become ill and could
not attend school. When an investigation into the matter took
place, the officials responding found the children dead in their
home.
One friend of Ward's stated that she always
knew her to be a good mother. She stated that the incident was in
no way the type of thing that she knew Ward to be capable of.
Ward is now 32 years of age. She received three
consecutive life terms but will be eligible for parole in 45
years. The courts were preparing to start jury selection this
month to see if Ward was competent to stand trial. Many people
believe she was not in her right mind during the murders.
Allegations that she even gave to charity while her power was
turned off and her children were starving was one of many
situations that caused speculation about Ward's state of mind.
The family stated that they were just pleased
that the whole ordeal was over. They were not in the court room
during the plea agreement or sentencing phase. The family was in
the office of an attorney and said to be in prayer that Ward's
life would be spared.
Ward was offered a chance to make a statement
after her plea agreement but stated she had nothing further to
say.
Many people in the Tennessee Valley area of
Alabama where this took place have strong feelings about this
trial. Many have stated that they feel the punishment did not fit
the crime. They further have stated that they believe it was too
lenient of punishment for taking the lives of three children.
Although in one instance the ordeal is over,
many feel that justice hasn't really been done in this instance.
There are so many unanswered questions surrounding this case.
Although it may be shut in the eyes of the judicial system, many
people are still seeking answers on why this happened.
Police: Mom Starved Kids To Death
3 Found Dead In Alabama Apartment; Police Say
Mom Confessed
Associated Press
Feb. 6, 2005
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The mother of
three children found dead in a Huntsville apartment has confessed
to starving her children, police said.
Nathshay Yvonne Ward, 33, was charged with
capital murder Friday in connection with the deaths of her son and
two daughters. She was being held without bail.
Officers found the bodies of Shanieka Y. Ward,
11; Latricia Ward, 9; and Christopher O. Ward, 8, on the floor in
three bedrooms Friday, police spokesman Wendell Johnson said.
Officials said the children had been dead for
at least several days.
Investigators would not elaborate Saturday on
the details of Ward's confession.
When the children were found, "they did appear
malnourished," Johnson said.
Johnson said relatives told police they had
been trying to visit the family for weeks but Ward would not open
the door. Officials said utilities in the apartment had been
turned off since Jan. 12, and managers of the apartment complex
had been preparing to evict the family.
Johnson said the children had not attended
school since the holiday break. Workers with the Alabama
Department of Human Resources had tried to visit the apartment in
December but Ward refused to let them in, he said.
Ward was single and "took care of her kids,"
said Leetha McCaulley, who managed the apartment complex until
October.
After her car broke down last year, Ward "used
to walk the kids to school every day," McCaulley said.
"It was just her and those kids," she said.
"She was quiet. Paid her rent on time."
Mother
Confesses To Starving 3 Children To Death
February 5, 2005
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- The
mother of three children found dead in a Huntsville apartment
Friday has confessed to starving her children, police said
Saturday.
Nathshay Yvonne Ward, 33,
was charged with capital murder Friday night in connection with
the deaths of her son and two daughters, Sgt. Ed Cain, supervisor
of the major crime unit for the Huntsville Police Department, told
The Huntsville Times.
When the children were
found, "they did appear malnourished," said Wendell Johnson,
public affairs administrator for the Huntsville Police Department.
Investigators would not elaborate on the details of Ward's
confession.
Officers found the
fully-clothed bodies of Shanieka Y. Ward, 11; Latricia Ward, 9;
and Christopher O. Ward, 8, on the floor in three separate
bedrooms of the apartment on the city's southwest side, said
Johnson.
The children had been
dead for at least several days, Cain said. "We're waiting on
autopsies to determine the time and cause of death," he said. He
said the Huntsville Police Department is working with the Madison
County Coroner's office and the Alabama Department of Forensic
Sciences to determine when and how the children died. Johnson said
it would take up to two weeks for a full autopsy report.
Cain said authorities
received a call at 2:56 p.m. Friday from the children's
grandmother, whose name was not immediately available. The
children had been living in the apartment with Nathshay Ward, he
said.
He said investigators
interviewed her after the discovery Friday but did not say what
led authorities to charge her with the children's murders. Johnson
said utilities in the apartment had been turned off since Jan. 12,
and the children had not attended school since the holiday break.
He said family members
told police that they had been trying to visit the family for
weeks, but the children's mother would not open the door.
A representative of the
city school system had also tried to visit the apartment in
December, but Nathshay Ward refused to let them inside, Johnson
said.
(The Associated Press,
relying on information from a police spokesman, erroneously named
the agency that attempted to visit the family in December. The
spokesman says a representative of the city school system, not the
Alabama Department of Human Resources, was turned away by the
mother.)
Cain said the Whispering
Hills apartment complex was preparing to evict the family. He told
The Birmingham News that the apartment manager did a "brief
look-in" on Jan. 26.
Johnson said
investigators were trying to determine when the children had last
been seen.
Natashay Yvonne Ward
The victims
Shanieka, 11, Latricia, 9,
and Christopher Ward, 8.
