Mom Charged With Killing Children Asks Judge For The Death Penalty For What She`s Done.

A woman charged with killing her 13-year-old autistic son and 9-year-old daughter in the midst of a custody dispute asked a judge for the death penalty Tuesday during her first court appearance since her arrest.Appearing disheveled, her head down and hands behind her back, 42-year-old Marilyn Edge appeared by video link for an arraignment on two counts of murder with special circumstances.

When Orange County Superior Court Judge Craig Robison asked Edge if she wanted her arraignment postponed to Oct. 25, she twice said, "Only if you promise me the death penalty."

The judge postponed the arraignment.

A phone call by The Associated Press for comment from Edge's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Arlene Speiser, was not immediately returned. Read more.
Authorities haven't released many details of the case, but one of the special circumstances filed by prosecutors alleges the children, daughter Faith and son Jaelen, were poisoned.

Edge, of Scottsdale, Ariz., lost custody of them on Wednesday in a Georgia case, then texted her ex-husband, Mark Edge, two days later that she would bring the children back on Sunday, his attorney Marian Weeks said. The children were found Saturday in a Santa Ana hotel room.

Mark Edge was informed about the death of the children early Sunday by Atlanta police and was taken to a hospital for duress.

"He's emotionally, extremely distressed," Weeks said. "He is getting better. His whole focus right now is on the children."

Marilyn Edge could be eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

She was driving a car that crashed Saturday into an electrical box outside a shopping complex in Costa Mesa. She refused to get out of the car and tried to choke herself with an electrical cord as rescuers attempted to free her, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.

Police found propane in the car but wouldn't say whether there was a suicide note.

Authorities said Edge told investigators they could find her children's bodies at the hotel.

The Edges were married for less than 10 years and divorced in December 2007, Weeks said. Marilyn Edge claimed her former husband, who routinely traveled to Afghanistan where he worked as a contractor, failed to make child support payments, according to court records.

Marilyn Edge was given full custody of her children in October 2009, a ruling that was later set aside after Mark Edge contended he wasn't aware of a court hearing because he was overseas and documents were sent to a wrong address. However, the Georgia Supreme Court later found there wasn't enough evidence to set aside the ruling.

Weeks said the case began to turn in the ex-husband's favor in September, when a judge reduced child support payments and ordered joint custody. At the time, Edge hadn't seen his kids in more than 1 1/2 years because his ex-wife refused to let him visit, the lawyer said.

Mark Edge was stymied again by his ex-wife, who moved to Arizona shortly after the judge's order, saying she was getting a job transfer. He only saw his children three or four times via video phone calls, Weeks added.

"All he wanted was to spend time with his children," Weeks said. "But Marilyn could not let that happen."

At a hearing last Wednesday in a Georgia courtroom, a judge found that Marilyn Edge was alienating her children from her ex-husband and said he should be given full custody, Weeks said.