Hours before allegedly killing child, mom left mental institution, stole car, dad says

Hours before allegedly killing her daughter, a Columbia woman was released from a 24-hour hold in a mental institution, stole a car and drove to Lawrence, according to the victim’s father.

Scharron Renea Dingledine, 26, faces charges of first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder. The Douglas County district attorney wrote in charging documents that she intentionally drove her vehicle into the Kansas River near downtown Lawrence on Friday with her two children inside.

She and her 1-year-old son were rescued. Her 5-year-old daughter, Amiyah Bradley, was found dead in the river on Saturday.

“She could have reached out,” said Clinton Bradley, Amiyah’s father. “She didn’t want anybody to have her kids. She thought someone was going to take them from her.”

Dingledine was admitted to a psychiatric institution for 24 hours after a domestic violence dispute with her current boyfriend — the 1-year-old’s father, Bradley said.

A neighbor called police when she heard banging and screaming from Dingledine’s home, the neighbor told Bradley.

After being released from the institution, Dingledine was supposed to meet with an official with the Children’s Division of the Missouri Department of Social Services. That prompted her fear of losing her children, said Bradley, who said he’s spoken at length with Dingledine’s boyfriend about the hours leading up to his daughter’s death.

Dingledine was released on Friday morning and soon stole her boyfriend’s car and drove west, Bradley said. At some point, she ran out of gas and stole another car.

The 1-year-old boy is fighting to survive in a Lawrence hospital. If he does pull through, Bradley said, he’ll likely “never be the same kid physically or mentally.”

“She deserves the worst,” Bradley said of Dingledine. “I hate to wish wrong on anyone in this world … but this, this is unspeakable.”

Bradley said he was upset that Amiyah’s body wasn’t found until Saturday. It haunts him, thinking about her underwater overnight.

He also was critical of the Lawrence Police Department. He wasn’t contacted by an officer to inform him his daughter was dead. Instead, a friend told him over Facebook.

He said someone with Lawrence police told him a detective would call Monday, but the call never came.

“I haven’t received a single call,” he said by phone Tuesday afternoon.

He added that he’s not blaming the police, and he appreciates their work on the case.

Lawrence police could not be reached Tuesday evening. The department said on Twitter Tuesday afternoon that it was still seeking more information in the case.

“We are asking anyone who had contact with Scharron Dingledine on August 2nd or August 3rd to please contact our Investigations Division at 785-830-7430,” the department tweeted.

Amiyah’s funeral is scheduled for Wednesday. Bradley set up a GoFundMe account to defray funeral costs.

He hadn’t seen Amiyah in more than a year because he couldn’t reach Dingledine, who moved often and didn’t maintain a working phone, he said. He’s regretful that he wasn’t able to intervene, but he knows he isn’t to blame.

“I’m just trying to do everything I can do for her funeral to make up for everything I missed out on,” he said. “I figured she would grow old enough to say, ‘I want to see my dad.’ But she didn’t grow old enough to ask those questions.”

He wonders if his daughter’s memories of him — taking her to breakfast and to a park when she was younger — remained in her final moments.

“Does she remember who her dad was, or did she die not remembering me?”

He’s thinking now about her smile and loving nature.

“Just in the short amount of time she was here, you can see how many hearts she touched,” he said. “There was no telling what that little girl could’ve done.”

Dingledine’s attorney said during a brief court hearing Tuesday that she wants an evaluation of Dingledine’s competency. The Lawrence Journal-World reports Dingledine’s next hearing was scheduled for Aug. 28 to allow time for an evaluation.

Dingledine’s bond was set at $1 million.

This story was originally published August 7, 2018 at 9:03 PM.