ORANGEBURG, S.C., Aug. 22 (UPI) -- The South Carolina woman accused of smothering her two sons and pushing a car with their bodies into a river told a friend she was "fed up," the friend says.
Chea Phelps, a 22-year-old friend who said she spoke to the woman the night of the alleged killings, said: "She was telling me she was tired. She was fed up," The (Columbia, S.C.) State reported Sunday.
Shaquan Renee Duley is accused by Orangeburg County police of smothering her young sons, driving them in her car to the North Edisto River and pushing them into the water in an effort to cover up the crime.
Neighbors described Duley as quiet, but police said the stress of being an unemployed, single mother was taking a toll.
Last Sunday night, the day before the boys were found, the woman had a fight with her mother and left the house they shared, taking the boys, 2-year-old Devean and 18-month-old Ja'van with her, but leaving her 5-year-old daughter behind, Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams said.
The fight began over who would give the youngest boy a bath, The State said.
Prosecutors have not decided whether they will seek the death penalty. Duley's next court appearance will be a bail hearing, the newspaper reported, but did not give a date.
