A Kentucky woman accused of fatally shooting her two young sons appeared in court for the first time on Tuesday.
Tiffanie Lucas, 32, is accused of murdering Maurice Baker Jr., 6 – affectionately known as ‘Peanut’ – and Jayden Howard, 9, in a bedroom last week.
The day after the shooting, Lucas was arraigned by video and without a lawyer present. Judge Jennifer Porter entered a not guilty plea on her behalf and jailed the woman in the Bullitt County Detention Center.
In setting the $2 million bond, Judge Porter described Lucas as ‘a danger to others.’
At Tuesday’s hearing, Bullitt County detective Richard Beahl shared more details about the grisly murder as well as the suspect’s alleged remarks.
Tiffanie Lucas, 32, is accused of murdering her sons, 6-year-old Maurice Baker Jr. and 9-year-old Jayden Howard
She appeared in a courtroom for the first time on Tuesday, flanked by attorneys
A judge described Lucas as ‘a danger to others’ when setting the $2 million bond
He said four gunshots were fired in 30 seconds and that both children were shot in the head.
When questioned, Lucas reportedly said ‘I’m in such a bad spot’ and chalked the shooting up to an accident.
‘I’m so stupid,’ she added. ‘I would never do anything like this unless someone manipulated me.’
Beahl testified that Lucas ‘made statements that she was being manipulated through Facebook, through the internet or through Wi-Fi…into doing what she did.’
The crime was discovered on November 8, when Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office received reports of a shooting with injury at a home in Shepherdsville.
When Lucas’s neighbor pulled into his driveway, he saw the 32-year-old walking down the stairs of his porch before collapsing.
She told him that her ‘kids were dying.’ When the man entered her home, he discovered the boys’ bodies in a bedroom. A gun lay on the bed.
The neighbor called 911 and stayed with the boys until EMS arrived and rushed them to Norton’s Children’s Hospital in Louisville.
They were taken into surgery but ultimately succumbed to their injuries.
Maurice and Jayden were half-brothers, and Jayden’s father died in 2019
Lucas allegedly told a detective ‘I’m so stupid’ and ‘I would never do anything like this unless someone manipulated me’
The 32-year-old mother also claimed the shooting was an accident
Lucas said she was manipulated through the internet or Wi-Fi into committing the murders
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On November 8, Lucas collapsed in a neighbor’s driveway after shooting her two boys, leading to the discovery of their bodies
Police recovered Ring camera footage from a nearby home. In the video, four shots ring out before Lucas walks outside and shouts for help.
Lucas told detectives that she left the gun in the bedroom and that someone had given it to her. She admitted that no one else had been to the house that day.
In initial statements after the shooting, Col. Alex Payne shared that the boys were half-brothers. Jayden’s father died in 2019.
Lucas reportedly once served a month in jail in a drug possession case, and family members claim they reached out to Child Protective Services on several occasions, to no avail.
Michelle Rice, Maurice’s stepmother, told WLKY that she believes drug abuse also played a role.
‘Nobody can manipulate you to do such a horrific thing,’ Rice said.
‘So many other people really loved them and could have been there to help them, but she wouldn’t allow that. She was too selfish, and now they’re gone.’
Speaking to the outlet, Payne said: ‘Whether you think it’s mental illness, just pure evil, a combination of both, it could be substance abuse….Pick your poison. None of it’s good. The result is horrific.’
Lucas has been charged with two counts of murder.
Capital punishment is legal in the state of Kentucky, but rarely used. The most recent execution was that of Marco Allen Chapman, who was convicted of two murders.
Lucas reportedly once served a month in jail in a drug possession case
Maurice’s stepmother said she believes drug abuse also played a role in the murders
Lucas posted heavily edited photos of herself on Facebook and wrote several posts celebrating her sons
In 2022, she wrote: ‘I will always use any excuse to celebrate them and show them how special they are’
On Facebook, 32-year-old Lucas posted heavily edited photos of herself and her two boys.
‘I love my babies everyday of the year, I will always use any excuse to celebrate them and show them how special they are,’ she wrote on Valentine’s Day 2022.
In another post, she proclaimed: ‘I love my kings different and that’s why Jayden & Peanut are different types of children. They are GOD SENT & every wrong I have ever done or any hurt I have ever caused I am so focused on correcting and loving them longer and deeper.’
She continued: ‘I can not guarantee a lot of things in life BUT I can guarantee the mother I will always be, the love I will always share, and the best I can ever give and do will be PROMISED to you my love, Jayden & Peanut!’
A vigil was held over the weekend to honor the two boys.
