A Kentucky woman charged with fatally shooting her two sons plans to plead insanity at her upcoming trial, court documents revealed. Tiffanie Lucas, 32, is accused of killing her sons, Jayden Howard, 9, and Maurice Baker Jr., 6—affectionately known as “Peanut”—in their Shepherdsville home in November 2023.
Lucas, who faces two counts of capital murder, initially claimed that the shooting was accidental and that she had been manipulated into committing the crime. However, a motion filed in Bullitt Circuit Court on September 11 states that Lucas’ defense team will “assert a defense of insanity at the time of the alleged offense” and present expert evidence of her mental condition.
Police responded to Lucas’ home after a neighbor found her collapsed outside, saying that her children were dying. When the neighbor entered the house, he found the two boys in a bedroom with a gun on the bed. Despite being rushed to Norton’s Children’s Hospital in Louisville, both boys succumbed to their injuries.
Ring camera footage from a nearby home captured four gunshots and Lucas walking outside, shouting for help. During questioning, Lucas told detectives that she had left the gun in the bedroom and admitted that no one else had been at the house that day. She also made statements suggesting she had been manipulated via Facebook or Wi-Fi.
Lucas had posted numerous messages about her deep love for her children on social media. In a Valentine’s Day 2022 post, she wrote: “I love my babies everyday of the year, I will always use any excuse to celebrate them and show them how special they are.” In another post, she called her sons “GOD SENT” and promised to always love them deeply.
The trial will hinge on whether Lucas was mentally capable of understanding her actions. The family of one of the boys has stated that they will accept nothing less than the death penalty for Lucas.
As the trial approaches, the court will consider expert testimony regarding Lucas’ mental state, as her defense argues that she was suffering from a mental illness at the time of the shootings.
