She reportedly was "hearing voices" . . .
Mom Arrested in Bay Area Children's Deaths
Mother Arrested for Allegedly Throwing 3 Children Into San Francisco Bay; Authorities Recover 1 Body
By JORDAN ROBERTSON Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO Oct 20, 2005 A woman who tossed her three young children off a pier into San Francisco Bay near Fishermen's Wharf has been arrested, authorities said Thursday, and the Coast Guard searched for the bodies of two of the children.
The body of a third child was recovered Wednesday.
Lashaun Harris, 23, of Oakland, was booked on three counts of murder and three counts of assault on a child with great bodily injury, according to Susan Fahey, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Sheriff's Department. Harris remained in custody early Thursday with no court date set, she said. Harris' children were identified as Trayshaun Harris, 6, Travante Greely, 2, and Joshua Harris, 1.
A child's body was found about four hours after a witness reported seeing a woman drop the children into the bay near Pier 7, said Jonathan Guerra of the Coast Guard. The body was not immediately identified.
While rescuers searched for the children Wednesday night, an empty stroller was visible on the pier. A small inflatable Coast Guard boat hugged the water front as rescuers used hand-held flashlights to search under the pier. Larger Coast Guard and San Francisco police boats searched the water with high-powered flashlights.
Mayor Gavin Newsom came to the scene to get briefed by authorities, telling reporters, "I'm sick to my stomach," before leaving.
Lashaun Harris told authorities that voices had told her to throw her children into the water, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. It was not immediately known whether she had an attorney.
Asia Powell, who identified herself as Harris' cousin, said Harris was taking medication for a mental illness.
"I know that she would never hurt her kids," she told KPIX-TV. "I know that."
Harris had been staying with her children at a Salvation Army shelter in Oakland, the Chronicle reported.
"I just talked to her yesterday," Mary Ann Ramirez, the shelter's social services manager, told the newspaper Wednesday. "We had our usual, 'How are you doing, how's the kids.' I would never have guessed in a million years that today she would do that."
The pier is in the Embarcadero area, which draws tourists to the historic Ferry Building within view of Coit Tower and the landmark Transamerica pyramid. It's about a mile from Fishermen's Wharf.
