Kimberly Shepperson (PHOTO: Hanover Sheriff’s Office)
HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) – The Hanover mother who attacked her son with an ax and then set her home on fire in an attempt to kill her three children plead guilty to all charges against her.
Kimberly K. Shepperson, 30, faces life prison on two attempted capital murder charges, as well as arson and aggravatedmalicious wounding charges. Her formal sentencing date will be set during a hearing scheduled for Oct. 29.
Shepperson, who called herself borderline bipolar, said the Feb. 21 attack came after she fought with her ex-husband over custody of their children.
"I layed [sic] in bed thinking of the easiest, painless way for all four of us to no longer be on this earth, be together forever," Shepperson wrote in a statement given to detectives hours after the attack. "At that point I could only think about the axe that was outside."
"I took the axe into my son's room and began hitting him over and over again. Then, realizing what I had done, I just kept hugging him, kissing him, telling [him] I was sorry and love him," she wrote. "Then I thought of doing the same to my seven year old and just couldn't."
That is when Shepperson said she started to set fires in her Bultaco Trail home.
"I started a fire in my son's room. I looked at my baby girl (10 months) for a while, then started a fire in my bedroom and laid in bed. My seven year old woke up and then I knew I had to act to save them," she wrote. "I tried to go into his [her 11-year-old son who she hit with an ax] room and get him out. All I saw were flames to the ceiling and heard him crying out in pain, yelling for help, moaning in pain."
Shepperson said when she realized she could not save her son, she collected her other children and escaped the burning home through a bathroom window. A Hanover Sheriff’s Deputy soon arrived at the home and rescued Shepperson's 11-year-old son.
"I'm sorry is not even enough for my action," Shepperson wrote at the end of her five-page statement. "I love my children. They are my life."
The 11-year-old boy, who also suffered from cancer, has since recovered from the attack. He returned to school and is living with his seven-year-old sister and father. Shepperson’s other young daughter is now living with her father as well.
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