Shanieka Yolanda Ward   Latricia Lynn Ward  Christopher Omar Ward

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Utilities in the apartment had been turned off since January 12, and managers of the apartment had been preparing to evict the family. Relatives told police they had been trying to visit the family for weeks but Ward would not open the door. The Ward children had not attended school since the holiday break. On February 4, 2005 the bodies of Shanieka, Latricia and Christopher Ward were found on the floor in three separate bedrooms.

 

Their mother Natashay Ward prayed for her children, as they starved to death in her dark apartment and stayed with them for at least a week after they have died. An autopsy confirmed the children died from starvation and dehydration, and not by poisoning or other means. Natashay did not stave her children because she did not have money to feed them, she was getting a $500 check each month from the government, plus $400 in food stamps. She sent hundreds of dollars to a televangelist and she sponsored a child through a religious charity. Natashay Ward mailed off an Apartment Finder Guide postcard looking for an apartment for one. On it Natashay requested information on six apartment complexes. She was asking about a two bedroom apartment for one person. The card is postmarked February 2nd, two days before her children were found dead.

 

Natashay Ward pleads guilty to three counts of reckless murder and sentenced to three consecutive life terms in state prison but will be eligible for parole in 45 years.