NEW YORK (AP) — A former teacher who laced her two young children's grape juice with windshield wiper fluid, then drowned them in a bathtub promised on Tuesday to raise awareness of postpartum depression before a judge sentenced her to eight years in prison.
After this tragedy, I'll make it my mission to raise awareness about postpartum depression so that other families won't suffer through what I've suffered.
Bamenga was portrayed as a model mother and dedicated third-grade teacher at Public School 58 in Carroll Gardens, a leafy brownstone Brooklyn neighborhood.
About a dozen supporters, some of whom were former parents of children she taught, attended the sentencing in Bronx State Supreme Court and helped raise about $20,000 for her defense.
After Bamenga drowned the children, she turned on the gas stove and slit her wrists.