Affidavit claims mother purposely drove into river to kill herself and children

A Columbia woman charged with killing her 5-year-old daughter and injuring her 1-year-old son after driving them into the Kansas River claimed said she wanted to kill her children so no one else could have them, according to a released affidavit.

Lawrence police said they responded to the south bank of the Kansas River at 1:15 p.m. on Aug. 3 for reports of a vehicle in the water.

Police recovered 5-year-old, Amiyah Bradley, who was pronounced dead at the scene, 1-year-old Elijah Lake in critical condition and the mother, Scharron Dingledine.

According to the affidavit released by the Douglas County Court, when officers got to the scene, police asked Dingledine if there were others in the vehicle, and she did not reply.

When she was taken to shore, Dingledine repeatedly said, “Let me die.”

Officers then found a small child who was immediately transported to the Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

“The child brought in from the scene … was dead upon arrival but had been revived and was not currently breathing on his own and essentially on life support,” said a medical professional in the affidavit.

Dingledine said she had been in “several domestic incidents … with her boyfriend since Monday of that same week.” She said she voluntarily admitted herself to a psychiatric hospital for several hours after one incident.

“She drove to Mexico, Missouri, where she told a Chevy Equinox from a residence,” according to the affidavit. She and her children spent the night in the vehicle in Kansas City.

Dingledine said she to drove to Lawrence the following morning. She told police that as she drove around the city, she felt depressed and “worried about the consequences from her actions.” She said she was thinking of taking her own life.

While she was on that drive, she told police she’d decided to kill herself and the children because “she didn’t want anyone else to have them,” according to the written statement.

Dingledine viewed her only options as driving into the river or jumping off the bridge with her children, according to the affidavit.

When she eventually made the decision to drive into the river, both of her children were in the front seat and not wearing their seat belt.

Dingledine is in the Douglas County Jail.