Columbia Woman Who Drove Car into Kansas River Pleads Guilty

A 26-year-old Missouri woman who intentionally drove her vehicle into the Kansas River in Kansas has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports Scharron Dingledine, of Columbia, Missouri, entered the plea Monday. As part of the plea, she won't be eligible for parole for 25 years.

Prosecutors say Dingledine drove a car into the Kansas River near downtown Lawrence in August in an effort to kill herself and her children.

Rescuers pulled Dingledine and her 1-year-old son, Elijah Lake, from the water but were not able to save her 5-year-old daughter, Amiyah Bradley. Her body was recovered from the river the next day.

Elijah was critically injured.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.