In 2017, 24-year-old Lamora Williams from Atlanta was a single mother of four children when on Oct. 12, she placed the two youngest children inside the oven, turned it on high heat, and placed the kids inside. She and the children’s father, Jameel Penn, had recently separated and the troubled woman, who suffered from mental illnesses including postpartum depression, spiraled into an emotional bombshell. She even attempted suicide before mur*dering the children.
Jameel still helped take care of the kids, both financially and physically, after the breakup. He was a good father who deeply loved his sons.
Lamora’s Mother Expressed Concerns
Lamora’s mother tried to take the kids away from her because she thought her daughter was going to hurt them or herself. The woman told the local Division of Family and Children’s Services that she was worried about her daughter’s mental health and that she didn’t feed the kids and often left them home alone. Several of my neighbors agreed with this statement. In fact, Mrs. Williams tried to get custody of the kids.
On the night of the m*urder, Lamora called a friend named Nessa Smith, telling her that she couldn’t do it anymore. She told her that her children, 1-year-old Ja’Karter and 2-year-old Ke-Yaunte, were dead.
Lamora Video Calls Jameel; Shows Him His Deceased Sons
Lamora hung up the phone and then called Jameel on video chat. This is how Lamora looked at the apartment with the camera. Jameel looked down and saw his sons on the ground. He called 911. Also at this time, Lamora called the police and said she had left the kids with her cousin and found them dead when she got home from work. It was thought by police that the kids had been dead for days before she put them in the oven. People who lived nearby said the apartment “smelled like de*ath.”
“It felt like a real scary movie.” “It was the 13th of February,” Jameel Penn said. “I knew what was going on when I saw my kid and how I saw my kid.”
Penn says the image of his dead sons lying on the floor of their mother’s house will always bother him.
Lamora told the 911 operator that one of the kids was stuck under a “pulled over” oven and that both of them were burned with their “brains on the floor.” Then she asked the operator if she was going to jail.
The children were found dead in the house by the police. Jamel Jr., Lamora’s oldest son, was found safe and sound.
Lamora Charged With Felony Mur*der
She was taken into custody, charged with felony mur*der, cr*uelty to children, making a false statement, and other charges. Police said they suspect Lamora put the kids in the oven to conceal the actual method of m*urder.
Sentencing/Convictions
Lamora said she wasn’t guilty before her trial. The case was set to go to trial in 2018. We don’t have any new information about the case at this time. A search for inmates at the Georgia Department of Corrections does not show Lamora Williams’ name.
His father is now taking care of Jameel Jr. Jameel Sr. has set up a GoFundMe page to ask for help taking care of his oldest son by himself.
