Dec 3, 2009 1:09 pm US/Pacific
Mother Pleads Not Guilty In Murders Of Her 2 Sons
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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La'Tonya Dixon pleaded not guilty in the murders of her sons.
CBS
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Christian Dixon, 5, was found shot to death in his bedroom. His mother was arrested on suspicion of murder.
CBS
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Michael Dixon, 1, died after being taken off life support on Oct. 23.
CBS
A woman accused in the fatal shootings of her two young sons pleaded not guilty Thursday to murder and assault charges.
La 'Tonya Dixon, 26, is charged with two counts each of murder and assault on a child causing death involving the Oct. 17 shootings of her 16-month-old son, Michael, and her 5-year-old son, Christian.
The criminal complaint also includes the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, which makes the 26-year-old Los Angeles woman eligible for the death penalty.
The District Attorney's Office will decide whether to seek a death sentence.
Dixon was initially charged with attempted murder involving her youngest son, but that charge was upgraded to murder after the 16-month-old boy died on Oct. 23 after being taken off life support.
Police disarmed and arrested the woman at her apartment in the 7800 block of Gramercy Place at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 17, authorities said.
She had called 911 to report shooting her children at 8 a.m., police said.
Arriving officers said Dixon was on the walkway of her second-floor apartment and waving a gun around, asking police to shoot her. At one point, she appeared ready to jump off the walkway.
"I've wasted my life!" she was quoted as saying.
The children were found in the apartment's living room.
Dixon, who has remained jailed since her arrest, is due back at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse on Jan. 27, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require her to stand trial.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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