:bloated:
"Mom’s shocking story of throwing kids in bay
She reportedly said oldest boy cried out as he went over rail
Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Lashuan Harris pleaded not guilty to three murder counts…
Lashuan Harris provided a chilling account soon after she was arrested about how she had thrown her children one by one – the oldest crying “No!” – into San Francisco Bay, sources said Friday.
Details of what allegedly happened Wednesday evening on Pier 7 along San Francisco’s Embarcadero emerged the same day the 23-year-old Oakland woman pleaded not guilty to charges that she murdered her three sons – Trayshaun Harris, 6, Taronta Greely, 2, and 16-month-old Joshua Greely.
Harris, disheveled and appearing downcast, could barely be heard as she gave brief answers to questions from Superior Court Judge Lucy McCabe. Her defense attorney, Teresa Caffese – who led Harris into the courtroom on her arm – entered not-guilty pleas to three counts of murder and three counts of assault on a child likely to produce great bodily injury leading to death.
“She’s not well,” Caffese said later outside court. "Right now, we need to take care of Ms. Harris.’’
Relatives say Harris had suffered from schizophrenia for at least two years, had been hospitalized twice and had recently stopped taking medication that eased the disorder. On Wednesday morning, she told a cousin that she was going to the nearest beach to feed her children to the sharks, family members said.
Police who rushed to Pier 7 at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday found Harris standing by the railing with what one would-be rescuer described as a blank look on her face. Her children were gone.
Harris soon laid out what had happened, according to sources who spoke on the condition they not be named.
The oldest boy, Trayshaun, was the first to go, Harris reportedly said. The 6-year-old protested as she stripped him naked, then screamed “No!” as she threw him over the 4-foot-high railing, his mother allegedly said.
Next was the 2-year-old, Taronta. Finally, she allegedly said, she threw the toddler, Joshua, into the water 10 feet below.
Taronta’s body washed up at Fort Mason more than four hours later. The other boys’ bodies have not been found.
Harris told police that she had been treated for her schizophrenia in Florida over the summer and believed she had been cured. She started hearing voices Tuesday night, however, and said she believed she was following the word of the Lord when she threw the children into the bay, the sources said.
At one point, the sources said, Harris laughed when police asked her how old the children were.
A woman from San Antonio who was in San Francisco this week on a business trip, told The Chronicle on Friday that she had seen Harris with the children about 15 minutes before the boys were thrown in the water.
Katie Spring said she had been jogging along the Embarcadero when she saw the family. The two older boys were pointing at boats in the distance as they huddled around a stroller that held the toddler, she said.
"They were just beautiful, happy kids,’’ Spring said.
The mother, she said, "had this sort of calm, almost vacant look on her face.’’
“She was just staring straight ahead – she didn’t have any eye contact,” Spring said. "She wasn’t interacting with the children. It was like she was a robot.’’
On a flight home to Texas the next day, she said, she opened the newspaper and saw the photos of the three children. "When I recognized the boys, I just lost it,’’ Spring said.
In court on Friday, Harris covered her mouth as she heard the judge read the charges against her. In addition to the murder and assault charges, she faces the special-circumstance allegation of multiple murders.
That allegation carries the possibility of the death penalty, although District Attorney Kamala Harris has said in the past that she would never seek capital punishment. She said Friday that it was too soon to say what penalty her office might pursue in this case.
Outside court, both the defense and prosecution called circumstances surrounding the deaths tragic.
“We can tell you it’s a tragedy for the families, the babies and Ms. Harris. This is a very, very difficult time,” Caffese said. “It can’t be captured in words right now.”
Harris is in protective custody in the County Jail and is under a suicide watch, Caffese said.
The district attorney agreed that the case was a sad one.
“This is a tragedy, and it’s something I think is shocking not only our community in San Francisco but clearly the country,” Kamala Harris said. "Because of the unbelievability of it, because of the outrageousness of it, and the tragedy of it, this is a unique case to say the least.’’
