CHICAGO (AP) — Decisions concerning the welfare of three children belonging to an Illinois woman whose first three children were drowned in 2003 have been placed in the hands of a guardian.
The Pantagraph in Bloomington reports the agreement entered into by Amanda Ware and husband, Leo, on Tuesday means Ware will not regain custody of the children. Born since her marriage to Ware, the children will remain with a member of her husband’s family in Chicago. The parents will be allowed to visit.
Amanda Ware, then known as Amanda Hamm, was convicted of child endangerment and served five years in prison for watching then-boyfriend Maurice LaGrone Jr. drown her three children from previous relationships.
Prosecutors said LaGrone, who is serving a life sentence, killed the children because they interfered with the couple’s relationship.
Cook County prosecutors argued the Wares’ children were in danger of serious harm because of the 2003 case and Leo Ware’s criminal background. The couple separated in 2016.
