McDade to serve 8 years in child deaths

Calling Shaqueta McDade “a good person who did something bad,” Judge Kristian Earles Tuesday sentenced her to 20 years in prison with 12 years suspended in the deaths of four of her children.

McDade is the Rayne woman who was charged with leaving her children alone in a trailer while she was at Truckers Lounge in Church Point. The children — ages 2, 5, 7 and 8 — died after the trailer caught fire. McDade’s oldest child, a fifth grader, was staying with relatives and was not present when the fire occurred.

Four people — Martin Petitjean Elementary School Principal Kim Cummings; Brian Stiener, McDade’s estranged boyfriend at the time of the fire; Shanna Jones, McDade’s mother; and Virgie Comeaux, Mcdade’s grandmother — testified prior to Earles handing down his sentence.

Cummings got very emotional when she held up a framed collage of pictures of the boys. That collage now hangs in the cafeteria where 8-year-old Jamari McDade and 7-year-old Amous Mouton Jr. attended school.

“I had a special relationship with Jamari,” Cummings said, fighting through tears. “He was the first-ever president of our Synergy group.”

The most emotional testimony came from McDade’s mother, Shanna Jones, who raised her voice angrily several times when she discussed what she said were “lies that had been told” against her daughter.

“She’s been trying her best to cope and I think she is doing a great job under the circumstances,” said Jones as McDade wiped tears from her eyes at the defense table. “She’s in a depression. There’s no sleep. This is the hardest thing we’ve ever been through.”

McDade and Stiener, the father of two of the victims, previously said in videotaped statements that the children were left alone. On Tuesday, however, they said that a babysitter was present during the fire.

Prosecutor Fritz Welter said that the woman they claim was babysitting, identified only as “Oceana,” had been interviewed by his office and was in Lake Charles when the fire occurred.

Jones, however, stated that “she was the first person I saw when I pulled up (at the fire scene).”

Prior to Judge Earles handing down his sentence, Welter spoke of how only two days prior to the fire, police were called to McDade’s trailer after her children were reported being outside after midnight. Neighbors also had previously complained of other occasions where she children were left unsupervised, according to Welter.

Welter strongly requested that Earles hand down consecutive terms for the maximum number of years.

“She chose to put her personal enjoyment ahead of the safety of her children,” he said. “Think of what they went through. This was a horrible way to die.”

McDade previously withdrew her no contest plea to four counts of negligent homicide several months ago in favor of a jury trial. However, she reinstated it last month and put her fate in the hands of Judge Earles.

Welter expressed some disappointment in the amount of time McDade received. 

“I’ve seen the photographs of the bodies and they didn’t simply pass out and die of smoke inhalation,” he said. “These children suffered.”

Welter also stated that if McDade hadn’t entered a plea and had gone to trial, he could have introduced evidence which would have contradicted much of what was said Tuesday. 

“I would have shown them the tapes and asked, ‘Were you lying then or are you lying today,’” he said.

Welter also said that McDade had initially claimed that she had been at a store when the fire started but had to change her story once several witnesses at the club reported her being there. 

“She told us that she lied about being at the store because she knew she would get into trouble,” he said. “She also said that she had never been in trouble with the law when, in fact, she has faced several charges in the past.”

McDade was sentenced to four consecutive five-year terms with 12 years suspended. She will serve her eight years without the opportunity for parole.

“We had asked the judge to sentence her more toward the upper end of the statutory maximum, but we are satisfied that justice has been served in this case and the deaths of these four young children did not go unpunished,” said Welter. 

McDade was represented by Crowley attorney Glen Howie. Howie has a policy whereby he doesn’t issue public comments regarding his cases.