LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A plea deal may be possible for a Bullitt County mother accused of shooting and killing her two young sons late last year.

Tiffanie Lucas was back in court Monday. Judge Rodney Burress has already set a trial date for Dec. 17, but conversations in the courtroom this time centered on mediation, which means there is the possibility of some kind of plea deal being reached in the case.

Last November, Lucas was arrested and charged with murder. Police said a neighbor found her sons, Maurice Baker Jr., 6, and Jayden Howard, 9, shot inside the family's home on Bentwood Drive in Bullitt County. Both boys died from their injuries.

In a hearing late last year, Bullitt County Detective Richard Beahl shared details from his interview with Lucas after she was taken to the sheriff's office. 

"I asked Ms. Lucas if she meant to hurt her children," Beahl said on the stand. "She indicated that it was an accident."

Maurice Baker Jr. and Jayden Howard

Maurice Baker Jr. and Jayden Howard were found shot at their home in Bullitt County on Nov. 8, 2023. (Submitted photo)

Lucas has already entered a not guilty plea and has remained in the Bullitt County Jail on a $2 million dollar bond.

Monday, loved ones of the boys said they don't want a plea deal in this case. Many left the courtroom upset, including Bobbie Baker, Maurice Baker Jr.'s aunt.

"If you don't want to try it, let somebody else do it, Bailey, for real, because she deserves everything she get(s)," said Baker to Commonwealth's Attorney Bailey Taylor moments after they left the courtroom.

"Mediation isn't really an option on our side, from his family," said Michelle Rice, stepmother of Maurice Baker Jr. "We don't want mediation. We want her to get exactly what she deserves and we would rather the death penalty and life without parole."

Taylor has previously said punishment if someone is found guilty of such a capital charge like in this case could range from life in prison, to life in prison without the possibility of parole, to the death penalty.

Two weeks ago, Taylor said he wasn't ready to say exactly what the prosecution would seek.

"She's looking at — of course, as a capital offense — possibly the death penalty, but we have not notified the defense that we were seeking the death penalty at this time," he said in June.

Tiffanie Lucas appears in court in Bullitt County on Monday, July 1, 2024

Tiffanie Lucas appears in court in Bullitt County on Monday, July 1, 2024. (WDRB image) 

After Monday's court appearance, what happens now is waiting to see when a date will be set for mediation. Taylor said he'd be surprised if the date was before September.

"At this point, I believe that mediation is an effective tool that might be successful in this case. We have used it in numerous other cases before, in fact several murder trials," Taylor said. "The key to mediation is, if all the parties aren't on board, or we reach a road block that we can't get past, it's not a binding mediation."

Taylor said how it works is a mediating judge would set the date and time, which he said would likely be around three or four hours.

"The way the system works is, I would sit down with some of the family members -- prearranged -- with the judge. We would discuss the facts of the case and what we would like to see happen. At that point, the judge would go across the hall or wherever the defendant is being held with her attorneys and discuss the case with them," Taylor explained. 

He said after that, the sides would go back and forth "to see if a resolution can be reached." 

Taylor said this does not guarantee a plea deal, and the case could still end up going to trial. 

"If at any point we do not think that it's appropriate to go forward, we can just call it quits and move on to trial or seek another avenue of resolution," he said. 

Still, those who loved the boys and continue showing up for court proceedings said they question the mediation. 

"We're their family, so we need to be the ones to make sure that they do get the justice that they deserve," said Rice. 

Taylor said also during mediation, the judge can tell the prosecution and defense what he/she believes to be the strengths and weaknesses of both sides of the case.

"We always take the family's feelings into account, but at the end of the day, it's the Commonwealth's that makes the call on how to proceed further," he said. 

Rice said her family still thinks of her step-son every day. 

"Everything we do, we always wish he was there with us. We just miss him so much and wish that he could be here with us today," she said.

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