California Mother Who Killed Her 3 Daughters Comes Up For Parole
SAN MATEO COUNTY (KPIX 5) – A Bay Area mother convicted of killing her three young daughters could soon be set free.
It's described as one of the worst criminal cases in San Mateo County history.
Three girls, ages 2, 3 and 7 were murdered by their own mother, Megan Hogg.
San Mateo County Deputy District Attorney Sean Gallagher said, "She taped their hands, she taped their mouths, and smothered them one by one by one."
Hogg plead no contest to the murders and was sentenced to 25 years to life.
But now, she may not even serve the minimum time after a state prison review board found her suitable for parole earlier this week.
"We are stunned," Gallagher said. He says they are prepared to fight the decision.
Gallagher said, "To be granted parole the first time she saw a parole board, we find extraordinary and stunning and very frustrating."
Hogg suffered from depression and attempted suicide after killing her young daughters.
But Gallagher says she knew exactly what she was doing and planned the murders to punish her mother, who stepped in to take care of the girls, because she felt Hogg wasn't doing enough.
Gallagher said the San Mateo District Attorney's Office believe that if she is released out on parole, she is a risk to the public.
He says Hogg has violated many rules in prison, including dealing drugs.
Now, they must convince Governor Jerry Brown that Hogg doesn't belong in the community.
"Twenty years is totally insufficient especially because she's done such a bad program in prison. She's broken the law, she's broken rules," Gallagher said.
Gallagher says the girls' paternal relatives want Hogg to stay in prison and plan to plead to the governor not to approve the board's decision.
The governor has less than two months to decide. If Hogg gets parole, she could be released as early as next spring.