Woman accused of killing girl, 2, to get new lawyer

A Jupiter woman accused of killing a 2-year-old girl and trying to kill the girl's 10-year-old brother last year is getting a new lawyer at the public's expense.

 Circuit Judge Charles Burton on Friday approved private defense attorney Marc Shiner's request to withdraw from Kimberly Lucas' case.

Prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty against Lucas, 41, who is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and child abuse. Shiner told the judge the Lucas family could not afford to pay for expert witnesses and other legal research and expenses necessary for a planned insanity defense. Burton assigned Assistant Public Defender Elizabeth Ramsey to represent Lucas, who is due back in court on Nov. 9 for another status hearing in the case. The judge also declared Lucas indigent for the purposes of her defense.



According to a Jupiter police arrest report, Lucas tried to kill former domestic partner Jacquelyn Jamason's children on May 26, 2014. Lucas gave pills to the two children, 2-year-old Elliana Lucas-Jamason and her brother, police said. The boy found his sister submerged in a bathtub, tried to revive her, and called 911, the report stated.
After a court hearing in March, Jacquelyn Jamason told reporters, "I just want to see justice served. My daughter deserves that."
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