SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Bullitt County mother charged with shooting and killing her two sons pleaded guilty in court Wednesday morning.

Tiffanie Lucas was arrested in November 2023 and charged with two counts of 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.

"She should have to stay in prison," Bobbie Baker, Maurice's aunt, said outside the courthouse Wednesday. "Give them some form of justice. They didn't deserve this. They're kids."

Lucas previously entered a not guilty plea and has remained in the Bullitt County Jail on a $2 million bond for nearly a year. Her murder trial was scheduled for December. But with Lucas now pleading guilty to both her sons' murders, she avoids trial. Instead, it will be up to Judge Rodney Burress to announce her sentence.

"I still don't believe it. I still don't," Baker said. "I won't believe it until she's sentenced and I won't believe it until then." 

A plea deal wasn't reached in the case. By entering this guilty plea, Burress said Lucas is not only waiving her right to a trial but also the right to appeal. 

Calling Lucas a "monster" who doesn't deserve to ever see life outside a prison, Baker said she and her brother, Maurice's father, are heartbroken.

"My brother is hurt," she said. "He's sitting in the courtroom with tears in his eyes. (There's) no way a parent should have to sit through this."

Burress said Wednesday that Lucas' two charges hold a penalty of 20-50 years each, which could run concurrently or consecutively, or a life sentence. Lucas' sentencing hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Nov. 22 in Bullitt County.

Tiffanie Lucas

Tiffanie Lucas walks toward the podium to face Judge Rodney Burress inside a Bullitt County courtroom on Jan. 8, 2024 for a status hearing. (WDRB photo)

"Just sentence her accordingly, please, and see her for what she really is and what she did," Baker said.

Bullitt County Commonwealth's Attorney Bailey Taylor called this case a "horrible crime."

"That's what made it so tough," he said outside the courthouse Wednesday. "You've got two kids, completely innocent, and their lives are snuffed out in a matter of seconds."

Baker said if this case had gone to trial, she would've continued to show up in court for her family. She plans to speak in court, if possible, during the sentencing.

"...  her never being able to get out of jail, for me, is justice, because that's what she wants," Baker said.

Insanity Defense

Last month, Lucas' lawyers said they planned to use an insanity defense or present evidence relating to a mental disease or condition. A court filing in September said Lucas' attorney planned to go that route but the paperwork also said there was not a request to evaluate her competency to stand trial. 

"The defense had made a notice that they were going to seek the insanity defense. We made a motion that we were entitled to make for a full evaluation," Taylor said Wednesday. "If that had happened, based on the backlog, we probably would not have gotten a report back from KCPC any sooner than six to 12 months. So that would've moved things down the road a considerable amount of time."

Taylor said he's satisfied with the guilty plea in this case. At sentencing, he will be able to make a recommendation to Burress. 

"I'm going to recommend a very high sentence in terms of time, but I'm going to discuss it with my first assistant and my assistant and possibly consult with some other prosecutors to come to what I think is a fair and just recommendation to make to the court," he said.

According to Taylor, from this beginning, this was "not a case where we had to figure out 'Who done it.'"

"We knew exactly who the defendant was," he said. "The question was going to be the competency to stand trial and, during the guilt phase, what a jury might do with sentencing."

Lucas' attorneys declined to comment Wednesday.

Baker told reporters after an Oct. 14 court appearance that she believes Lucas has been "coddled" and pushed back on Lucas' claim to a detective that the shooting was accidental.

"It wasn't an accident," Baker said. "One of the boys was shot twice. You don't shoot two little boys and call it an accident."

Taylor said Wednesday that the maximum Lucas could face would be life in prison. He said, per law, she would be eligible for parole in 20 years, but Taylor said he "seriously doubts" the parole board would grant that.

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)

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