The Maryland woman who shot her husband because she claimed he was abusing children at her daycare faces 10 years in prison if convicted at trial later this year.
Shanteari Weems, 50, shot her husband James in a room at the Mandarin Oriental in Washington DC last month in what her lawyer said was self-defence.
The violence unfolded after she was allegedly told by one of the mothers who sent her child to her Lil Kidz Kastle daycare centre that James Weems had molested her child.
“She didn’t want to kill him. She just wanted to hurt him, but she does want to kill herself,” stated court papers in the case.
Mr Weems, a 57-year-old retired Baltimore police officer, was shot in the leg and neck and has now been charged with 10 counts of suspected child abuse. He remains in custody.
“To have someone that you trust and love molest or harm one of those children broke her heart. But, still, he is her husband, and, still, she wanted to ask him, ‘Is there some way that those children were wrong?’ And, when confronted with that information, you know, he charged her and she defended herself,” her lawyer Tony Garcia told WBALTV earlier this month.
And he added: “Mrs Weems appreciates the support she’s getting. The investigation in Baltimore County is exactly what she wants. She wants him to never molest another child.”
“This case has resonated, it resonates across all races and sexes.
“I believe there are many things that divide this country, but the protection of our children is not one of them.”
Ms Weems, 50, has been charged with assault and weapons offences. She will be back in court on 28 November and a judge has set a trial date for 6 December.
Her husband has been charged with three counts of sexual abuse of a minor, three counts of third-degree sexual assault, three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault and one count of displaying obscene material to a minor.
He was also charged with an additional three counts of second-degree assault.
