Destrehan woman charged with killing her two children

Dawn M. Wines, 22, of 231 Ormond Meadows Drive in Destrehan, was arrested on March 12 on a warrant from Arkansas for two counts of capital murder.

Wines is facing charges for allegedly smothering and killing her two children last year.

She allegedly killed her 18-month-old son Louis “Scooter” Wines on August 7 and her 7-month-old daughter Annabelle Wines on Oct. 13 in McNeil, Ark., said Detective Leroy Martin of the Columbia County, Ark., Sheriff’s Office.

Louis Wines was brought to Magnolia Hospital on Aug. 4, 2009 and pronounced dead three days later.

Annabelle was then taken into custody during an investigation into Louis’s death. Annabelle was returned home after 60 days, the allotted time by state law that the Sheriff’s Office had to build a case against Wines.

The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office said they didn’t have enough time to build a case against Wines and that they were still waiting for test results to come in when the time ran out.

Investigators said that Louis was allegedly suffocated with a pillow and Annabelle was strangled.

According to authorities, both incidents happened while Wines was alone with the children and her husband, Josh Wines, is not being charged.

Wines was arrested at a home in Luling by St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s officers in cooperation with Columbia County and Arkansas State Police investigations.

She was booked into the Nelson Coleman Correctional Center in Killona before being transported back to Arkansas on March 16.

The couple allegedly separated after the childrens’ deaths and Wines moved back to St. Charles Parish where she grew up.

Josh Wines told the Banner News in Magnolia, Ark., that he supports the death penalty for his wife.

No bond has been set for Wines and she is expected to make her first appearance March 18 at the Columbia County Detention Center in Magnolia before Judge Larry Chandler.