The Louisiana mother accused of tossing her two young children from a bridge into Cross Lake in September, killing one and seriously injuring the other, has changed her plea.
33-year-old Ureka Black is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the slaying of one of her children, and the attempted second-degree murder of another of her children on September 24, 2021. She initially pleaded not guilty to the charges following her indictment in January.
The body of her 10-month-old son, Joshua Calif Black, was recovered from the lake by Shreveport police marine patrol officers after someone reported seeing a child floating near the Cross Lake bridge. A marine patrol found and rescued the five-year-old from the water.
The Caddo Parish DA’s office has confirmed that Ureka Black changed her plea from “not guilty” to “not guilty by reason of insanity” during a status hearing Monday. The change of plea came after a sanity report ordered following her arrest in September was filed with the court and the judge ruled Black competent to stand trial.
If convicted on the second-degree murder charge, Black faces an automatic sentence of life in prison. Conviction on the attempted second-degree murder charge would be punishable by 10 to 50 years without parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.
Black is due back in court on August 4.
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