Sadness still for 3 children

Sadness still for 3 children

Almost a year after Leatrice Brewer drowned her three young children in the bathtub of her New Cassel apartment, responsibility for the tragedy remains elusive. Time and explanations, however, haven't eased the sadness, nor softened the outrage over the killings that shocked Long Island.

On Monday, a county court judge accepted Brewer's plea that it was mental illness, not criminal intent, that caused her to drown Jewell, 6, Michael, 5, and Innocent, 1. This was the proper decision, given the findings of two psychiatrists who agreed Brewer didn't know that what she was doing was wrong, believing instead that she was saving her children from voodoo curses.