Launice Shanique Battle
A North Carolina mother is accused of killing her own daughters. Cops from the city of Raleigh identified the defendant as Launice Shanique Battle, 29. Her father reportedly said that it was his understanding the girls were left in a hot car.
Officers said they got called out to the address of 3400 Wake Forest Road. That’s the Duke Raleigh Hospital.
The Raleigh Police Department has charged Launice Shanique Battle with two counts of murder in connection to a death investigation at 3400 Wake Forest Road on August 27. pic.twitter.com/HNKRfxiUCo
— Raleigh Police (@raleighpolice) August 29, 2022
Cops were called there just before 9:40 p.m. on Saturday, according to WNCN, citing arrest warrants. The alleged murders had happened that same day, officers reportedly said. Battle was arrested at the hospital the following morning. Cops in a reported news release update identified the girls as sisters and Battle as their mother.
Officers did not name the girls, but a WRAL report identified them as Trinity Michelle Milbourne, 2, and Amora Lou Milbourne, 3,
Battle’s father, who was in court on Monday, said that it was his understanding the children were left in a hot car, according to the outlet. Her cousin’s called the deaths a “careless mistake.”
“She was always there,” Battle’s cousin Keisha Harris reportedly said. “She’s a caring and loving mother to her kids at the end of the day. She’s not a cold-blooded murderer. She’s not a killer.”
WRAL spoke to a person identified as a caretaker for one of the girls.
“There was never a time that she was not happy,” this person reportedly said. “It was sent to me by another coworker and we’ve all been talking about it. We didn’t find out until later on that it was children and that’s when we all started feeling emotional and heartbreak.”
Several neighbors declined to talk on camera but said they always saw small children at the residence, according to WTVD.
WRAL reported, however, that neighbors told them Battle moved in around three months ago. They thought she lived alone, according to them.
Police did not reveal the location of the alleged murders or the girls’ cause of death.
Battle remains at the Wake County Jail as of Monday, held without bond, records show.
Note: We added information attributed to Battle’s family.
[Booking photo via Raleigh Police Department]
