Judge rules Wares remain unable to parent children

CHICAGO (FOX 32 NEWS) - Amanda Hamm spent five years in prison, convicted of child endangerment in connection with the murder of her three children.

She had watched as her then-boyfriend, Maurice LaGrone, drowned the three youngsters in Clinton Lake, in downstate Illinois, back in 2003. LaGrone was convicted of murder and is still in prison.

After Amanda's release, she married Leo Ware. They had three children, but DCFS took them from their parents, claiming they were not in a safe home. In juvenile court Friday, the parents were hoping to regain custody.

Amanda's lawyers said that she's been able to compartmentalize the earlier murders, hold a job and participate in therapy.

The judge, however, said that in trying to get on with her everyday life, Amanda Ware has been wearing blinders regarding the real issue in the case--the murders of her first three children.

"This is a case about judgment and responsibility," Judge Demetrios Kottaras told the couple. "After more than 50 sessions of therapy, Amanda Ware continued to refer to the murders of her own children as an accident....This court...cannot and will not put on blinders."

Kottaras denied the parents custody.

Amanda Ware appeared to wipe tears from her eyes as the judge announced his decision. Neither she nor Leo Ware were available for comment afterward.

The children will now remain wards of the state and reside in a home setting away from their parents, who have 30 days to appeal.