Amy Hebert

Amy T. Hebert[3] is a woman from Mathews, an unincorporated area in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, who was convicted of murdering her two children in August 2007 in an act of revenge against her ex-husband; she also killed the family dog. She was sentenced to life in prison. As per her sentence she cannot get parole.[4]

Amy T. Hebert
Born
Amy Talbot
NationalityAmerican
OccupationTeacher's aide
Criminal statusIn prison
Spouse(s)Chad Hebert (div. 2006)[1]
ChildrenCamille Catherine Hebert (1998–2007)
Braxton John Hebert (2000–2007)
MotiveRevenge against ex-husband
Conviction(s)First degree murder (both counts)
Criminal chargeFirst degree murder (Louisiana Revised Statute Ann. § 14:30) - two counts[note 1][2]
PenaltyLife imprisonment
Details
VictimsCamille and Braxton Hebert (her children) and the family dog
DateAugust 20, 2007
Location(s)Mathews, unincorporated Lafourche Parish, Louisiana
WeaponKnives

Background

Amy Hebert, née Talbot,[5] was an Evangelical Christian and worked as a teacher's aide at Lockport Lower Elementary School in Lockport, Louisiana.[6] She originated from Lafourche Parish and at one time resided in Thibodaux.[7] In Hebert's criminal trial, experts summoned by the prosecution and the defense stated that Hebert had been severely depressed around the time of the crime.[8]

Chad Hebert, her husband, sought a divorce in 2005, and the divorce action, which Hebert never challenged, was concluded[5] in April 2006. Chad Hebert subsequently entered into a relationship with another woman, whom he married in 2008.[1]

At the times of their deaths Braxton John Hebert, the boy, attended Lockport Lower, while his sister, Camille Catherine, attended Lockport Upper Elementary School.[9] Chad and Amy Hebert jointly held custody of them.[5] Raymond Legendre of Houma Today/The Daily Comet stated that the boy was "mildly autistic".[10] The family had a dog named Princess.[10]

Crime

On August 20, 2007, Amy Hebert fatally stabbed her children and the family dog; Camille was 9 and Braxton was 7. Hebert told a psychiatrist that Camille had begged for her life.[11] The children had defensive wounds to their hands and arms.[12] Camille had about 30–35 stab wounds to the front of her torso while Braxton had about 50-55 stab wounds to his torso, with about 30 to the front and 20–25 to the back.[11] All of Camille's vital organs had been hit, and both victims had been stabbed in the heart.[12] Camille was also stabbed on her scalp about 30 times;[11] the blade did not penetrate her skull.[12] Amy Hebert also stabbed herself about 30 times.[11] She gave herself wounds in the abdomen, chest, neck, and wrists.[7]

An employee of Jefferson Parish's crime laboratory, Tim Scanlan, stated that while authorities discovered Hebert and the children in bed together, Hebert stabbed herself and the children elsewhere. He did not state where Braxton was attacked;[10] psychologist Glenn Ahava stated that Hebert said that she attacked Braxton on a couch.[13] Scanlan believed Camille was likely attacked in Amy Hebert's bedroom and the bathroom, and that Hebert injured herself in one or both of those locations.[13] According to Ahava, Hebert said that Camille had been sleeping in the bed in that room, and that she stabbed her in both of those rooms.[10] Scanlan also stated that she attacked the dog in the utility room.[13]

A coworker who noticed Hebert did not show up to work drove by her house and, after knocking on the door and receiving no response, contacted a member of her family.[7] The father dialed 9-1-1,[14] asking authorities to check on the welfare of the children. His father, R.J. "Buck" Hebert, came to the house and discovered the injured Amy Hebert and the dead victims.[11] Deputies of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office subsequently entered the house,[12] and used a taser to subdue Hebert.[15] Craig Webre, the sheriff of Lafourche Parish, stated that as the children's bodies were in rigor mortis upon discovery, they had been dead for more than one hour. The bodies were transported to Jefferson Parish for their autopsies.[5]

Hebert was treated in the intensive care unit at Ochsner St. Anne General Hospital in Raceland.[16] Mark Hebert, a doctor, stated in records at the Ochsner hospital that Hebert's self-inflicted injuries were life-threatening.[14]

As a pretrial inmate, after her hospitalization, Hebert was booked at the Lafourche Parish Detention Center in Thibodaux but instead held at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women (LCIW) in St. Gabriel, the sole state prison for women in Louisiana, instead of the Lafourche Parish jails. This arrangement was made since the parish facilities could not accommodate a female pre-trial inmate accused of committing a felony who needed medical care.[16] Her bond was set to $1 million.[17]

The prosecuting attorney was the district attorney of the parish, Camille "Cam" Morvant II.[18][11] The defense lawyers were George Parnham, Richard Goorley, and Marty Stroud; the first had defended Andrea Yates and the latter two were from Capital Assistance Project of Louisiana. This was the first capital murder case tried by Morvant.[11]

One journalist covering the case posted updates to Twitter, making it the first criminal case covered in the Louisiana region which involved Twitter updates.[19]

The prosecutor stated that Amy Hebert was resentful of her ex-husband, while her defense attorneys argued she was under a form of insanity. Dr. Alexandra Philips, the psychiatrist at Ochsner St. Anne, stated that Hebert had told her "Satan was in the room laughing at her".[11] Both the prosecution and defense had psychiatrists who supported their respective versions of the events. The prosecutor also presented two suicide notes written by the woman to her ex-husband and mother in law,[11] which stated that he had committed infidelity and that he would not get the children.[11][20] Sophia Ruffin of Houma Times characterized the notes as "vitriolic".[11] According to testimony done during the criminal trial, the mother-in-law encouraged the children to have a relationship with their stepmother, something Amy Hebert disapproved of.[21]

Amy Hebert was convicted of the murders and received two life sentences, one for each child. Even though Goorley asked the judge to let her serve the sentences concurrently, on the grounds that she had no previous criminal record, District Judge Jerome Barbera instead chose to mandate that Hebert's life sentences be served consecutively on the basis that she had killed two people.[22] Jurors voted on whether to give her the death penalty, but the 9-3 vote in favor of death was insufficient to successfully sentence her to death, as the State of Louisiana requires a unanimous decision for the death penalty; therefore, the default punishment of life in prison applied. The trial had a cost of about $100,000.[11]

As a sentenced felon, Hebert is incarcerated at LCIW.[20] In 2011 and 2015 Hebert's appeals were denied by the Louisiana Supreme Court.[23][24]

Subsequently, Hebert entered an appeal in federal court.[25] Her legal representation, based in New Orleans, was Letty S. Di Giulio, who stated that the interviews with mental health experts proved she was insane.[26] The appeal accused the attorney of doing low quality work and the courts of improperly vetting the jury pool.[27] In May 2018, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the appeal.[28] The U.S. Supreme Court denied a hearing of her appeal in April 2019.[29] Joe Soignet, an assistant attorney with LaFourche Parish's courts, stated that the action, which is an example of the length of time an appeals process is completed for a prisoner, as over a decade had elapsed after the conviction, "literally closes the book on the case."[26]

LCIW was damaged by 2016 flooding;[30] As of 2019 Hebert was held in the LCIW temporary facility in the former Jetson Center for Youth in East Baton Rouge Parish.[26]

Aftermath

John DeSantis of Houma Times wrote "Residents of local communities reeled from news of the case, horrified by the children’s deaths."[19]

The visitations of the bodies of Braxton and Camille Hebert occurred at Falgout Funeral Home in Lockport,[5] and the funeral for the victims was held at the St. Hilary of Poitiers Catholic Church in Mathews.[16] Another memorial service occurred at Victory of Life Church in Lockport. The children were buried at Resurrection Memorial Park in Mathews.[5]

The 501(C)(3) Camille and Braxton Hebert Memorial Fund Inc. was used to establish recreational areas/playgrounds at Lockport Lower and Lockport Upper.[31] The playground at Lockport Lower has the text "Braxton's Buddies".[11] Camille's Court, at Lockport Upper, was scheduled to be a basketball court decorated with a plaque and flowerbed.[17] Scholarships in the names of both children for education major students were established at Nicholls State University.[11]

See also

Cases of filicide attributed to revenge against an ex-spouse:

Notes
  1. "2006 Louisiana Laws - RS 14:30 — First degree murder." See also 2011 and 2017 versions.

References
  1. Legendre, Raymond (2009-05-06). "Tearful testimony revealed at mom's trial". Houma Today. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  3. Barrouquere, Brett (2015-10-03). "Mathews woman loses appeal over deaths of 2 children". Houma Today. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  4. Martinez, Edecio (2009-05-19). "Life Sentence For Woman Who Killed 2 Children". CBS News. Associated Press. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  5. DeSantis, John; Raymond Legendre (2007-08-22). "Community reeling over youngsters' brutal slaying". Houma Today. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  6. Legendre, Raymond (2009-05-11). "'Mommy, I don't want to die'". Houma Today. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  7. Fontenot, Brian (2007-08-21). "Lafourche mother kills her children". Houma Times. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  8. Legendre, Raymond (2009-05-17). "Mom who killed kids gets life imprisonment". Houma Today. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  9. Legendre, Raymond (2007-08-21). "Mother faces murder charges in kids' slaying". Houma Today. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  10. Legendre, Raymond (2009-05-11). "'Mommy, I don't want to die'". Daily Comet. Retrieved 2019-09-01.
  11. Ruffin, Sophia (2009-06-24). "Mom sentenced to 2 life terms". Houma Times. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  12. Ruffin, Sofia (2009-05-05). "Coroner: Hebert children stabbed more than 30 times". Houma Times. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  13. "Nurse: Mom who killed kids feared losing them to ex-husband". 13 News Now. WVEC. 2009-10-22. Retrieved 2019-09-01.
  14. Legendre, Raymond (2008-04-02). "Court records paint grisly crime scene". Houma Today. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  15. Barrouquere, Brett (2015-10-03). "Mathews woman loses appeal over deaths of 2 children". Houma Today. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  16. Fontenot, Brian (2007-08-28). "Hebert transferred to St. Gabriel". Houma Times. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  17. Thurston, Dee Dee (2007-09-12). "Memorials to be built for slain children". Houma Today. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  18. "Hebert press release Archived 2017-01-25 at the Wayback Machine." Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. Retrieved on January 24, 2017.
  19. DeSantis, John (2019-04-10). "Convicted killer loses final appeal in murder case". Houma Times. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  20. Ruffin, Sophia (2009-05-20). "Mom will live out her days at state prison". Houma Times. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  21. Legendre, Raymond (2009-05-15). "Family continues support after verdict". Daily Comet. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  22. Legendre, Raymond (2009-06-19). "Killer mom sentenced to two life terms". Houma Today. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  23. "Appeal denied in 2007 Lafourche Parish child deaths". The Times-Picayune. Associated Press. 2011-10-26. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  24. "Woman convicted of killing her 2 children loses appeal". The Times-Picayune. Associated Press. 2015-10-05. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  25. "Mathews woman wants federal judge to toss convictions". Houma Today. 2015-11-27. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  26. Copp, Dan (2019-04-03). "Mom who killed her kids loses final appeal". Daily Comet. Retrieved 2019-05-11. Hebert is serving out her life sentence in the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women in Jetson.
  27. "Woman convicted of killing her children appeals to US court". The Washington Times. Associated Press. 2015-11-28. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
  28. Copp, Dan (2018-05-12). "Mom who killed her kids loses appeal". Houma Today. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  29. "Mom who killed her kids loses final appeal". Houma Today. 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  30. Lau, Maya (2016-08-30). "Louisiana women's prison shuttered after flood, nearly 1,000 inmates relocated to various lockups". The Advocate. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  31. Home. Camille and Braxton Hebert Memorial Fund Inc. October 10, 2008. Retrieved on November 27, 2016.
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