Lawrence DeLisle drove his vehicle into the Detroit River, killing his 4 children
Father Lawrence DeLisle sentenced to life for drowning four children seeks clemency
Lawrence DeLisle, 63, claims that the deaths of his four children were an accident and is seeking a recommendation for a commuted sentence from Michigan's parole board. (Credit: WJBK)
A Michigan man convicted of murder in the drowning deaths of his four children is seeking clemency, insisting that a leg cramp caused him to hit the gas pedal and plunge his vehicle into the Detroit River.
Lawrence DeLisle, 63, was convicted in 1990 and sentenced to five life sentences without parole for first-degree murder and attempted murder in the Aug. 3, 1989 deaths of 8-year-old Bryan Delisle, 4-year-old Melissa Delisle, 2-year-old Kathryn Delisle and 8-month-old Emily Delisle, according to Fox 2 Detroit.
After crashing through a road barrier and driving their car into the river, DeLisle and his wife were able to escape – but all four children drowned. Suzanne DeLisle has claimed she tried and failed to grab the steering wheel from her husband.
She divorced him and remarried soon after his trial.
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Lawrence DeLisle, 63, was sentenced to five life sentences for the drowning deaths of his four children in 1989. Last Thursday, he pleaded with the Michigan Parole Board to recommend a commuted sentence, claiming that their deaths were an accident. (Michigan Department of Corrections)
DeLisle was initially viewed as a victim in the public eye. However, police determined that he had never applied pressure to his brakes before his car hit the water. In a videotaped interview with Michigan State Police, the father-of-four said he "just couldn't" apply the brakes as the vehicle headed toward the river.
"I didn't want to. I don't know why," he told police, according to the Detroit Free Press. "I didn't mean to hurt my babies ... I didn't even realize they were in the car. My mind just went blank."
Only Gov. Gretchen Whitmer can shorten DeLisle's prison term. He has already served 35 years behind bars and has not had any conduct issues, state Corrections Department spokesman Kyle Kaminski told The Associated Press. Michigan's Parole Board held a hearing on Thursday to hear DeLisle's case and make a recommendation.
DeLisle's attorneys, who could not immediately be reached for comment, have argued that their client's confession was coerced and that the national media attention the case received prevented him from getting a fair trial.
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Lawrence DeLisle and his wife Suzanne were able to escape their sinking vehicle on Aug. 3, 1989, but their four children, 8-year-old Bryan, 4-year-old Melissa, 2-year-old Kathryn, and 8-month-old Emily, were killed. (Fox 2 Detroit)
Judge Robert Colombo Jr., the judge who presided over DeLisle's original case, told Fox 2 Detroit that the jury made the right decision the first time.
"He was there the day before casing the area planning the event," Colombo said. "He had a difficult job, he wasn't doing well. His father had committed suicide in the same vehicle. And I had suppressed some evidence where he tried to do the same thing years earlier, where he tried to blow up the house. There was a leak in the dryer and he placed a candle by it."
"Absolutely not," Colombo answered when asked if DeLisle deserved clemency, Fox 2 reported. "Basically, he's a mass murderer."
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Lawrence DeLisle is pictured in 1989, before he was convicted in 1990. He has spent 35 years in prison, and has had no conduct issues during his long sentence, according to prison officials. He is currently incarcerated at Lakeland Correctional Facility, according to Michigan Board of Corrections data. (Fox 2 Detroit)
Meanwhile, the Innocence Clinic at the University of Michigan's law school and Northwestern University's law school are supporting DeLisle, saying the crash was an accident. "He's not a danger to anyone, and there's no reason to keep him in prison," retired attorney Peter Van Hoek, who was involved in earlier appeals, told The Associated Press.
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DeLisle appealed his mandatory life sentence and lost in 1993, Fox 2 Detroit reported.
Parole board member Anthony King, who led Thursday's hearing, told The Associated Press that it was "hard to believe" that DeLisle did not slam on the brakes after his vehicle jerked forward.
Christina Coulter is a U.S. and World reporter for Fox News Digital. Email story tips to
