Murphy – A local woman accused in the drowning deaths of her twin sons appeared in court Monday, when the prosecution identified aggravating circumstances in the case that would make her eligible for the death penalty.
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Genevieve Ellen Springer of Harshaw is accused of drowning her twin 4-year-old sons in late February or early March in the midst of a messy divorce with her husband, the boys’ father.
Assistant district attorney James Moore and a state-appointed defense attorney, whose name was not immediately available, met with Superior Court Judge Steve Warren on Monday for a “Rule 24 hearing,” a pretrial conference in any case in which the defendant is charged with a crime punishable by death under state law.
A death penalty case requires aggravating circumstances. In this case, the slaying of one twin aggravates charges in the slaying of the other, and vice versa.
Springer was dressed in an orange jail uniform. She viewed the audience in the courtroom intently as she was led from the courtroom and appeared to be looking for someone familiar.
She is being held without bail and will remain at the Cherokee County Detention Facility to facilitate communication with her lawyer and until a facility that can provide services she needs becomes available, Warren ordered. Springer’s next appearance was scheduled for Monday, July 29.