Detroit Dad Arraigned in Deaths of Kids
39 minutes ago Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!
By LIZ AUSTIN, Associated Press Writer
DETROIT - A father was arraigned on murder, assault and other charges Thursday for allegedly shooting his four children, killing three of them, and setting fire to his home to conceal the crimes.
The surviving girl reportedly told a rescuer, "My daddy killed me."
A judge entered an innocent plea on behalf of Anthony Lamar Bailey, who police believe shot the children with a shotgun and set the fire Tuesday night before fleeing on a bicycle. He was arrested Wednesday while walking on a freeway overpass.
Essie Bailey, his wife and the children's mother, wailed in court when Bailey's face appeared on a video monitor from a holding cell. Family members carried her from the courtroom as the charges were read.
An attorney was not immediately named for Bailey. He will be held without bail at least until a preliminary hearing Sept. 3. If convicted of first-degree murder, he would be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The surviving child, 9-year-old Antonia, was found shot in the stomach in the house's basement along with the bodies of her siblings: Sharnice, 11, Ayana, 3, and Lamar, who was 1 year old.
Antonia told a rescuer "My daddy killed me," and "My daddy killed my whole family," according to police.
Court records show Bailey already was serving six months probation after pleading guilty in March to domestic violence for punching his wife in the face and stomach and choking her.
Antonia's half sister, Iesha Brassell, said the girl was recovering at a hospital.
A Detroit police officer searches garbage for evidence outside the Bailey house in Detroit, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2003. Four siblings aged 1 to 11 years were found shot, three fatally, in the basement of a burning home Tuesday, and police were searching Wednesday for their father, who was wanted for questioning. Sharnice Bailey, 11; Ayana Bailey, 3, and Lamar Bailey, 1, were pronounced dead at the scene. Antonia Bailey, 9, was taken to Detroit's Sinai-Grace Hospital in critical condition, but is expected to survive, Detroit Police Officer Christopher Cole said. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)