A gag order is now in place in the case of a mother charged with attempting to kill her three children after she drove her minivan into the Atlantic Ocean last week.
Ebony Wilkerson's children, ages 3, 9 and 10, were turned over to the Florida Department of Children and Families after lifeguards and beachgoers rescued them from the minivan March 4 at Daytona Beach.
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office charged Wilkerson with attempted murder on Friday. The 32-year-old pregnant mother remains locked up in the Volusia County Branch Jail on a bond totaling $1.2 million.
Wilkerson claimed she was at her wit's end because she was being abused by her husband, Lutful Ronjon. He denied those allegations through an attorney.
"(Your wife claims that you abused her? Did you abuse her, yes or no?) The only thing I can say is God bless everybody," Ronjon said after a child dependency hearing Monday.
"I'm defending someone who is a woman who is scared and has no prior criminal history, who came to Florida two weeks ago to stay with her family," said James Purdy, a public defender.
Ronjon, the children's father, was in court Monday for the hearing.
However, because the judge imposed a gag order, we do not know what the outcome was from the hearing.
Following the hearing, Volusia County Beach Safety released video of Wilkerson driving her minivan into the ocean.
All three children remain in state protective custody.