LONGWOOD - A woman accused in the poisoning deaths of her three children was returned to Florida from North Carolina and had her first court appearance Sunday.
Andrea Williams, 32, of Longwood had initially fought extradition but changed her mind Friday, Catawba County ( N.C.) Sheriff Dave Huffman said. She arrived at the Seminole County Jail just before midnight Saturday, where she was placed on suicide watch, officials said.
She appeared in a jail courtroom before County Judge John Sloop. She will be arraigned June 22 before Seminole Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr., according to the Seminole County Jail.
Williams was arrested May 10 in Catawba County. Authorities said she confessed to the killings of her children, Ilona, 9, Ian, 6, and Ivey, 5. The children were found dead at the bottom of a trundle bed in their Longwood home.
Calls placed to the Seminole County Public Defender's Office rang unanswered Sunday.
Ashley Bishop, 27, told the Orlando Sentinel for a story Sunday that she and Williams had a rocky and sometimes violent relationship for 18 months after meeting in an online chat room.
Bishop moved with her three children in June from North Carolina to be with Williams but moved back in September. Bishop said Williams became obsessive and jealous after the move and kept calling her. Bishop said she changed her telephone number six times.
She said on a May 4 call, Williams threatened to kill her, her estranged husband, Jason, and the Bishop children. Williams called back the next day and tearfully apologized, Bishop said.
The evening Williams was arrested, Bishop said she had a message on her cell phone from Williams saying she was in town and wasn't leaving.
Bishop said her husband was bringing their children to her home and found Williams sitting on the back porch. He called Bishop, who told him to call the police.
A Catawba County sheriff's deputy arrived and asked Williams to leave, then arrested her when she returned to the property. Deputies had learned that a missing persons report had been filed for the Williams children.
Found near the home were Williams' gun and a duffel bag filled with ammunition, duct tape, a box cutter and a set of handcuffs.
"It's very disturbing to me that three innocent children were killed and to know that I was next," Ashley Bishop said.
