MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A mother who drowned three of her children and attempted to kill a fourth by driving the family car into a lake in an Australian city has been sentenced to 20 years and six months in prison.
Akon Guode drove the SUV carrying four of her seven children into the lake in Melbourne in April 2015.
Victoria state Supreme Court Justice Lex Lasry said Tuesday he would have sentenced the 37-year-old to life in prison if she had not pleaded guilty to the three murders and the attempted murder.
Lasry set a non-parole period of 20 years. Guode is a Sudanese refugee and will likely be deported on release.
She wept and wailed through her sentencing hearing as the judge outlined her crimes and her earlier troubled life.