A mother of seven has pleaded guilty to murdering two of her children and killing a third after she drove her car into a lake in Melbourne's west.
Akon Guode's three youngest children, 16-month-old Bol, and four-year-old twins Hanger and Madit died after she drove her car into Lake Gladman in Wyndham Vale on April 8, 2015.
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Akon Guode charged with murder
Akon Guode, the mother of three children who drowned when their car plunged into a Wyndham Vale lake, is charged with the murder of 16 month-old Bol and four-year-old twins Hanger and Madit at an out-of-sessions court hearing.
Another daughter, Aluel was also in the car but survived.
Akon Guode appeared in the Supreme Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to one count of infanticide, two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
Infanticide has a lower moral culpability than murder, and carries a five-year maximum sentence rather than life imprisonment.
It applies to women who kill their children while affected by a mental disorder related to giving birth to them.
The Morwell woman's criminal trial was due to start in two weeks.
The Magistrates Court previously heard that Ms Guode never physically recovered after giving birth to Bol, and suffered headaches and dizzy spells, for which she did not seek medical help.
Joseph Manyang, the father of the three victims, defended Guode as a "loving mother" and said he did not believe she would have killed their children intentionally.
Mr Manyang – who was married to another woman when the children were born – told the court that when he asked her about the crash, she had cried and told him she was "dizzy".
Guode's daughter Akoi Chabiet told the court that Mr Manyang's wife had threatened to kill her mother after the twins were born, though she denied this.
Justice Mark Weinberg remanded Guode in custody until her next court appearance on January 31.