Marilyn Edge, 42 is charged of fatally poisoning her 13 year old autistic son Jaelen, and his 9 year old sister Faith.
Their bodies were discovered early on Saturday morning and causes of death were not revealed by the coroner until this morning. Their deaths came after Edge lost custody of her children amid a years-long contentious divorce with her ex-husband. A Georgia judge awarded her former husband, Mark Edge, custody of the children on Wednesday September 11.
She was told to hand over her children on Sunday September 16.
Ms Edge from Scottsdale, Arizona attempted suicide herself by crashing her car into a shopping complex in Costa Messa, California where she refused to get out of the car and tried to choke herself before police intervened. Propane was also found in the car.
She told responding paramedics the location of her children en route to a local hospital.
In 2004, she successfully sued the Federal Vaccination board, claiming that Jaelen’s Autism had been caused by vaccinations, and witnesses claim that she was a ‘doting’ mother.
She had also claimed that children of her ex-husband’s friend were sexually abusing her son and daughter, but the allegations were never proven.
Ms Edge was given full custody of her children in October 2009, but this was later set aside when Mark Edge said he had been working overseas so was unaware of the court date. The Georgia Supreme Court later found there wasn’t enough evidence to set aside the ruling.
Mr Edge, who had not seen his children in over 18 months said that Ms Edge had been avoiding visitation rights with the father.
Lawyer Mary Ann Korre said she had only represented Marilyn Edge at the most recent child custody hearing and had only known her client a few weeks.
She wasn’t aware of any reason why her client wouldn’t want her ex-husband to have contact with the children. Marilyn Edge was calm at the last hearing and there was nothing to indicate she might harm the kids, Korre said.
Ms Edge has asked for the death penalty in this morning’s Orange County hearing. Autism Daily Newscast will keep you informed of any further information as the hearing progresses.