ELLIANA LUCAS-JAMASON - 2 yo (2014)/ Charged: Mother's domestic partner; Kimberly Lucas - Jupiter FL

Arrest Made In Death Of 2-Year-Old Child In Jupiter

Tuesday, May 27 2014, 11:34 AM EDT
Story by Al Pefley / CBS 12 NEWS

JUPITER, Fla. -- Police say Kimberly Lucas, 40, will be charged with the killing of 2-year-old Elliana Lucas-Jamason and the attempted killing of the toddler's 10-year-old brother.

Police say Lucas is the former domestic partner of the children's mother.

Jupiter Police say the boy called 9-1-1 about 1:30 Monday afternoon on Memorial Day from a first floor apartment at the Dakota Apartment complex in Jupiter's Abacoa neighborhood, in the 3000 block of South Bismark Lane.

When officers entered the apartment, they found two children and an adult female in the apartment, all in need of medical attention.

The adult female was unresponsive.

Police found the toddler in the bathtub.

Police say it was the 10-year-old boy who called 911.

"It's just really tragic I think. Any incident involving a child is always tragic. It's just very sad," said Meabh Lenahan, a resident of Dakota Apartment complex.

"Well it's scary to hear that something like that can happen close to where I live. It's just insane 'cause you never know what can happen," said Jenny Schwartz, a neighbor who was riding her bike past the Dakota Apartment complex.

Jupiter Police say the 10-year-old boy is at Jupiter Medical Center in good condition.

Police won't confirm it, but it appears Lucas is hospitalized in critical condition, also at Jupiter Medical Center.

So far, they are not saying what the motive was for the murder of the toddler.

http://cbs12.com/news/top-stories/stories/arrest-made-death-2yearold-child-jupiter-16224.shtml?hot=1

Suicide Note in Tot's Killing Cited Sermon on Sacrifice: Cops
 

A suicide note found after a Florida woman killed her former partner’s daughter cited a sermon the day before about biblical sacrifice, according to an arrest report.

Kimberly Dawn Lucas, 40, of Jupiter, Fla., is accused of killing 2-year-old Elliana Lucas-Jamason and of attempting to kill the child’s 10-year-old brother Ethan on Monday.

The girl’s body was found in a bathtub full of water. Lucas had attempted to give the children an anti-anxiety drug, according to the arrest record, NBC station WPTV of West Palm Beach reported.

Lucas is charged with first-degree premeditated murder and unpremeditated murder during a felony. She was initially hospitalized on Monday but later moved to the Palm Beach County Jail, where she was being held Thursday without bond, according to jail records.

The arrest report says a suicide note found on a laptop at the scene references a sermon given Sunday by Pastor Lea Brown of the Metropolitan Community Church of the Palm Beaches, WPTV reported.

The sermon focused on the story in Genesis in which God calls upon Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, then stops him just before the deed is done and blesses him because he was willing to obey.

According to the arrest report, WPTV said, the suicide note says, “Lea’s sermon really, really touched me yesterday, but God never told me to stop!”

The note also tried to blame the children’s mother, Jacquelyn Jamason. Lucas had recently separated with her after a two-decade relationship, WPTV reported.

In a video of the sermon, Brown calls the passage a “text of terror that has sent the faith of some plunging to the point of no return.”

Yet, later in the sermon, Brown calls the story ultimately a message that God’s destination for believers is “life and recovery and hope and wholeness.”

In a statement on the church’s website, Brown asks for prayers for Elliana’s family and says: “Elliana is now the sweetest and smallest angel in the great cloud of witnesses that holds us always, and especially in times like this.”

On Tuesday, Brown told WPTV of the child’s mother: "She's doing how you would expect, shattered."

— Gil Aegerter
First published May 29 2014, 5:12 PM


http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/suicide-note-tots-killing-cited-sermon-sacrifice-cops-n118111

Accused child killer: God never told me to stop

Updated: 9:52 a.m. Thursday, May 29, 2014
Posted: 9:52 a.m. Thursday, May 29, 2014
By Matt Morgan and Hannah Winston

JUPITER, Fla. — A note left on the computer of the Florida woman accused of killing a 2-year-old girl offers a chilling reference from a previous day’s church service sermon and blames her former partner as the cause of her actions.

Kimberly Lucas, 40, also accused of attempting to kill the girl’s 10-year-0ld brother, was being held in Palm Beach County Jail on Wednesday with no possibility of bond.

According to a police report, a pastor’s May 25 sermon covered Genesis 22 where God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Issac, but then at the last minute stops Abraham from killing his son.

The note on the woman’s computer reads:
“In YOUR WORDS ‘WHEN YOU ARE LAYING IN BED AT NIGHT REMEMBER YOU (EXPLETIVE) DID THIS TO YOURSELF!’ Lea’s sermon really, really touched me yesterday but God never told me to stop.”

Police contacted Lucas’ pastor, Rev. Lea Brown, and determined that Lucas and 10-year-old Ethan Lucas-Jamason attended the Sunday church service at the Metropolitan Community Church of the Palm Beaches in Palm Beach Gardens.

By her own and others’ accounts, Lucas was the children’s other mother, raising them from birth with her partner, Jacquelyn Jamason, from whom she’d recently separated. Jamason is the biological mother of Elliana Lucas-Jamason, who was found dead in a bathtub by police at Lucas’ Abacoa apartment Monday afternoon.

The note also implies that Jamason, who is a licensed mental health counselor, is to blame for the situation.

“Hell is what we (go) through on Earth. Enjoyed your life with possiblego (sic) out without us, he manage but give you finally what you what want because apparently over the past 20 years I was not able to. Love you Always Kimberly.”

Lucas, 40, allegedly gave anti-anxiety pills to both Ethan and Elliana, according to a probable cause affidavit. Lucas told the boy the pill would make him grow faster and gave it to him in a cup of coffee, the report said.

Lucas also allegedly tried to give half a pill to Elliana in a glass of water, but the toddler didn’t like the taste and refused to drink it.

Ethan felt dizzy and went to lay down, waking up next to Lucas, who was unresponsive, the report said.

During the alleged incident, Ethan reportedly tried to save his sister by performing CPR and calling police.

Vice Moderator of the church’s board of directors Brian Ladd said Lucas frequently attended the church in the past, but he hadn’t seen her in a long time before Sunday.

The church held a gathering Tuesday for people to pray and reflect on the tragedy. He said it was attended by 70 to 80 people and those gatherings are common for sudden deaths.

Ladd said the church plans to help the family with any needs.

“Our focus as a church is just to continue to minister to the family and to all of those affected by this tragedy,” he said.

Lucas initially was taken by authorities to the hospital in critical condition, but transferred to prison Tuesday afternoon.

After Lucas appeared Wednesday before a judge, her attorney Marc Shiner said: “The community and the family deserves answers, and we’re looking for those answers.”

Lucas is not permitted to contact Ethan Lucas-Jamason or Jacquelyn Jamason and can’t have weapons. She will be held in jail until a full bond hearing can be scheduled.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/jupiter-woman-accused-of-poisoning-2-kids-killing-/nf892/