Defense blames ‘voice’ for murder of son, daughter

A male voice ordered Amy Hebert to fatally stab her two children the morning of Aug. 20, 2007, her defense attorney told jurors during opening arguments Monday at the Lafourche Parish Courthouse.

According to defense attorney George Parnham, Hebert awoke early that morning to a voice warning her that her ex-husband intended to take her children, Camille, 9, and Braxton, 7. Armed with 11 knives she had retrieved from the kitchen of her Mathews home, Parnham said Hebert stabbed her children repeatedly and then attempted suicide.

Hebert, 42, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of her two children. If convicted, she could face the death penalty. She has pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity to the charges.

Following two weeks of jury selection from a pool of about 68 people, District Judge Jerome Barbara swore in the 12-person jury – 10 women and two men – and alternates – three men and one woman Sunday afternoon. The jury is being sequestered at a Thibodaux hotel for the duration of the trial and transported each day to court.

Lafourche Parish District Attorney Cam Morvant II told jurors that Hebert had become depressed and angered at the news that her former husband intended to remarry.

Morvant said among the 200 pieces of evidence collected at the scene were “clear and concise” letters Hebert allegedly penned to her ex-husband and former mother-in-law explaining the murders.

“The plan was for her commit suicide in the ultimate act of revenge against her ex-husband,” Morvant said. “It all fell apart and that’s why we’re here.”

Witnesses, including Hebert’s former father-in-law, detailed on the stand Monday the scene the morning of the killings. Lafourche Parish sheriff’s deputies found Hebert, bloody from more than 30 self-inflicted stab wounds, lying in her bed with her children’s dead bodies at her side.

Parnham conceded during opening statements that Hebert had fatally stabbed her daughter and son. However, he said she was experiencing “major depression. She became psychotic.”

“She thought to herself she couldn’t bear hurting the kids,” Parnham told the jury. “But the voice in her head told her, ‘You’ll never see the kids again; you must die with them.'”

As her defense attorney began to describe the murders, Hebert began weeping, leading Judge Barbera to call a brief recess.

When opening statements resumed, Parnham detailed the self-inflicted cuts Hebert made to her eyes, chest, legs and wrists.

“It’s tragic for everyone, there’s no question about that,” he said.

Parnham said in the days following her children’s slayings, Hebert reportedly told medical staff, “They were my world. I loved them so.”

It was a theme he repeated throughout Monday’s opening statement.

As testimony resumed Tuesday morning, Lt. Chad Shelby, the Lafourche Parish deputy commander at the scene the morning of the murders, returned to the stand. Morvant continued to chronicle for jurors the events at the St. Anthony Street residence Aug. 20, 2007, after authorities arrived at the scene.