Marilyn Edge Requests Death Penalty After Killing Two Children
Marilyn Edge, who was charged with murder after fatally poisoning her two children in the midst of a custody battle, asked a judge for the death penalty Tuesday.
Edge appeared via video link from Santa Ana’s Central Jail in her first court appearance since her arrest. When Orange County Superior Court Judge Craig Robison asked if she wanted her arraignment postponed until October 25, Edge said, “Only if you promise me the death penalty.” She made the request again when the judge asked a second time.
After some urging from her lawyer, Edge responded, and Judge Robison postponed her arraignment. The 42-year-old could be eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
When asked about Edge’s death penalty request, Deputy District Attorney Sonia Balleste said, “The only death penalty I’ve seen her be efficient at was the death of her children. All the rest is just talk.”
Police found the bodies of Marilyn Edge’s two children inside a room at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Santa Ana Saturday. Edge tried to kill herself that night by crashing her car in a Home Depot parking lot. There was a propane tank inside the car, which she told police she hoped would ignite upon impact.
Paramedics responded to a call of a woman who crashed into an electrical box on a protective pole, only to learn that it wasn’t an accident. Edge became combative and mentioned the Hampton Inn room, leading police to the bodies of her children. According to CBS News, she tried to choke herself with an electrical cord when rescuers tried to free her.
Edge had lost custody of the children, 13-year-old Jaelen, who was autistic, and 9-year-old Faith, in a Georgia case last Wednesday. A judge found that she was alienating the children from their father and said he should be given full custody. She was given until noon Sunday to return the children to her ex-husband.
Police informed Mark Edge about his children’s death the day his ex-wife was supposed to bring them back. He was taken to a hospital for duress.
