In August 2007, Amy Hebert tragically killed her two children, Braxton and Camille, aged 7 and 9, and the family dog, reportedly as an act of revenge against her ex-husband. The children survived multiple stabbings but ultimately succumbed, and Amy too had stab wounds, though they were non-fatal.
The Beginning
Amy Hebert was born Amy Talbot in Mathews in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. She was working as a teacher’s aide at Lockport Lower Elementary School in Lockport, Louisiana when her marriage crumbled.
Amy and Chad Hebert were in love when they got married on August 9, 1991. Three years after their union in 1994 they moved to 118 St. Anthony Street, Matthews, Louisiana(the location where this crime was committed). The marriage was blessed with children with Amy giving birth to their first child Camille Catherine Hebert on June 4, 1998. About two years later on May 12, 2000, their second child, Braxton John Hebert was born.
Sadly, the relationship had turbulent times, and in July 2005, the couple was separated. Less than a year later in April 2006, they were divorced. However, Amy was bitter, she felt she had been used and dumped. The main reason her anger towards Chad was grievous was because she discovered that Chad cheated on her before they were separated. Chad had been seeing a woman, Kimberly Mendoza, whom he later married when he left Amy.
Amy wanted to hurt Chad, she wanted to do something that would make him regret ever leaving her. This was when she conceived the horrific idea of destroying the only thing she shared with him- their children.
Chad and Amy shared custody of the two children with Chad showing a high level of devotion to the welfare of the two little ones while Amy showed some level of nonchalance in caring for them.
The Attack
Amy was with the children on August 20, 2007. Chad had scheduled to see them at 5 pm but before he came tragedy had happened.
While Camille was sleeping, Amy entered her bedroom and brutally stabbed her tens of times. She stabbed her 30–35 times to the front of her torso, and then 30 times on the skull. She begged for her life crying, “Mummy I don’t want to die.” By the time she was done, she had penetrated all the organs in her abdomen.
Braxton was not spared, Amy stabbed him about 50 to 55 times. When she was done, she also stabbed herself multiple times.
The alarm was raised when Amy didn’t turn up for work and a worried co-worker decided to check on her at home. Unable to get a response, the co-worker got in touch with a family member who then called the authorities. It was Chad’s father, who found the devastating scene when he got to the house.
Amy was arrested at the scene by the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office after they had to use a taser to subdue her. She was treated for her injuries and then transferred to the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women to await her trial.
Throughout her trial, the prosecution claimed Amy was driven by spite toward her ex-husband, whereas her defense argued she was not mentally sound. A psychiatrist’s testimony suggested she was delusional, believing Satan was mocking her. Both sides presented expert opinions on her mental health.
In the end, Amy was convicted of double murder and sentenced to two consecutive life terms—one for each of her children—primarily because of the particularly cruel nature of the crimes. Although the jury considered the death penalty, they couldn’t reach a unanimous decision, which meant Amy received life without parole.
Amy tried to challenge her conviction, claiming that she received poor legal representation and that the jury was improperly selected, but her efforts were unsuccessful in both the federal appeals court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
The End
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