Ureka R. Black on Monday appeared in Caddo District Court where she asked the judge if she could act as her own counsel, choosing to represent herself “pro se” as she faces one count of second-degree murder and one count of attempted second-degree murder, The Shreveport Times reported. After ensuring that Black had given the decision proper consideration, Judge Donald Hathaway reportedly granted her request, but also ordered that her attorney, Elizabeth Gibson of the Caddo Parish District Public Defender’s Office, stay on standby to assist Black for the duration of the trial.
Black’s decision reportedly came only hours before jury selection in the case was scheduled to begin. She has pleaded not guilty to both charges after two court-appointed psychiatrists determined she was competent to stand trial.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, law enforcement authorities said that Black threw her children, 5-year-old Elijah Black and 10-month-old Joshua Black, off the Cross Lake bridge on the morning of Friday, Sept. 24, 2021.
Officers with the Shreveport Police Department responded to a 911 call at approximately 11:00 a.m. concerning a child seen floating in the lake near the bridge. An individual working on a yard crew nearby reportedly spotted the infant floating face down in the water and called police.
Marine patrol officers were dispatched to the area where they first located baby Joshua, who was unresponsive when he was pulled from the water. Emergency Medical Services personnel attempted to resuscitate the baby but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Elijah was found floating on his back and was pulled from the water a short time later. He was responsive but severely injured. The surviving boy was rushed to LSU Oschner Health Shreveport with “life-threatening injuries,” police said.
Investigators reportedly said that the surviving child provided police with evidence that was critical in identifying his mother as the person responsible for throwing him and his little brother off of the bridge.
Prosecutors on Sept. 5 filed a motion for discovery that revealed additional information about the events that preceded Black allegedly throwing her kids from the bridge.
The Shreveport Times reported that Elijah told investigators that Sept. 24 was his 5th birthday and on that morning his mother drove him and his baby brother to the bridge. In his account, Elijah reportedly said his mother told him he had “germs” and that the water below the bridge was “good water.” She then “rolled” him off the top of the bridge.
Authorities say Black tossed the kids into the lake so they could “meet with God,” Shreveport ABC affiliate KTBS-TV reported.
Black faces a life sentence if she is convicted on the second-degree murder charge and up to an additional 50 years on the attempted second-degree murder charge.
Mom to represent herself against murder charges for allegedly tossing her young kids off bridge so they could ‘meet with God’
