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Background: The Central California Women”s Facility in Chowchilla, Calif. (Google Maps). Inset: Megan Hogg (San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office).
A California mother convicted of murdering her three young daughters may soon be released from prison.
Megan Hogg, now 53, has been deemed suitable for release by the parole board at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla. Hogg was originally sentenced to 25 years to life in 1999 after pleading no contest to three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of her daughters—7-year-old Antoinette, 3-year-old Angelique, and 2-year-old Alexandra. Although a state prison review board in 2018 found Hogg eligible for parole, her release was opposed by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
As the 25-year mark of Hogg’s sentence approaches, opinions remain divided. Some family members of the victims insist that Hogg continue serving her sentence, while her immediate family is hopeful for her return.
According to SF Gate, Hogg was 25 when she duct-taped her daughters’ mouths and feet before smothering them on March 23, 1998. Afterward, she attempted suicide by consuming hot chocolate mixed with 40 different medications. The tragic scene was discovered by Hogg’s own mother.
Court documents reveal multiple potential motives, including Hogg’s struggle with depression following a head injury that resulted in seizures. Reports from SF Gate indicate that Hogg claimed she killed her daughters to prevent them from enduring the hardships she faced. Meanwhile, KRON, a local CW affiliate, reported that prosecutors argued the crime stemmed from Hogg’s anger over her children’s affection for their grandmother, who had been their primary caregiver.
In 2018, then-California Gov. Jerry Brown reversed the state prison board’s ruling that Hogg should be released. In addition to the girls’ relatives opposing the release, the DA argued at the time that Hogg was dealing drugs in prison and should be denied release. Local news outlet The Mercury News reported that Daly City police chief Patrick Hensley, who was a patrol officer at the time of the crime, said Hogg had “no remorse,” adding, “She made it clear that she did not want her daughters being taken away by her mother, and for that reason, she decided it was best to kill them.”
On Feb. 20, the prison review board once again determined that Hogg was suitable to walk free. The San Mateo County DA said in a statement obtained by KRON that it “continues to strongly oppose Megan Hogg’s release on parole.” During the hearing, Hogg’s immediate family members appeared to support her release. Three of the girls’ relatives from their fathers’ sides also appeared. Two of them opposed Hogg’s release and one deferred to the state board’s decision.
The final decision comes down to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.