A mother who is accused of causing the deaths of her two young boys as a result of over overheating in her SUV while she allegedly had sex with a man in a nearby truck last November is considering a plea deal to avoid a trial.
The Denver Post reports that Heather Jensen, 25, "giggled, smiled and flipped her newly permed hair" as she appeared in court Wednesday to waive a preliminary hearing so she can consider the plea agreement.
Jensen is charged with child abuse resulting in the deaths of her toddler sons -- 2-year-old William Jensen, who died at the scene from hyperthermia, and 4-year-old Tyler Jensen, who died days later at Children's Hospital in Denver. Jensen also faces charges of criminally negligent homicide and false reporting to authorities.
But those charges could change if Jensen reaches a plea deal. CBS4 reports that the family of Jensen's late husband Eric Jensen said they would rather Heather face the death penalty, but the charges against her are not severe enough for the death penalty to be an option.
"They asked us what we would like to see done. Of course, we said, 'The electric chair,'" said the deceased boys' stepgrandfather, Robert Mathena to The Denver Post. "But we would like to see this come to an end."
Jensen's two young boys died as a result of overheating in her Toyota 4Runner one night in late November. The Grand Junction Sentinel reports that Jensen's arrest warrant affidavit alleges that she was having sex with a man and smoking marijuana in a nearby vehicle as William and Tyler were left alone and locked in the 4Runner for more than an hour.
In December, while still under investigation for her sons' deaths, Jensen violated her court-ordered supervision and left Colorado for Florida where she was arrested.
Heather Jensen called 911 on Nov. 27 when she discovered that her sons Tyler, 4, and William, 2, were unconscious in the overheated Toyota 4Runner that idled near Powderhorn Mountain Resort.
A Mesa County coroner ruled that the boys died accidentally from hyperthermia, station KJCT reported. But Jensen was later charged with two counts of child abuse resulting in death, two counts of criminally negligent homicide, and one count of false reporting to authorities, according to the sheriff's office.
Jensen initially told deputies that she left her sons in the car for 10 minutes when a friend who drove by stopped to talk, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reported. She later allegedly admitted that her children were unattended for 90 minutes after she climbed into the truck of a male friend.
The deaths of William and Tyler came about a month after the children's father Eric died in a car accident.
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