Justine Winter breaks her silence on crash that killed mother, son and unborn
Teenager breaks her silence and apologizes for 85mph head-on 'suicide' crash that killed a mother, son and unborn child
- In a text just before crash she told her boyfriend Ryan Langford that she wanted to kill herself
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A teenager convicted of killing a mother and her 13-year-old son when she crashed head-on into their car while driving at 85mph in 2009 has broken her silence.
In an interview for the TV show Dateline, the much vilified Justine Winter finally says sorry to the family of her victims, pregnant Erin Thompson, 35, and her son Caden.
Winter, from Montana, said: 'I don't want to put them through any more pain than they've been put through already.'
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Remorse: Justine Winter breaks down as she apologizes to her family and the family of her victims
She also apologized to own her family, saying: 'My family was put in a lot of pain because of the accident. But they've got to see me grow up.'
Winter is serving a 15-year sentence for the killings and, at 18, is the youngest inmate at Montana Women's Prison.
Asked if she would finally take responsibility for the horror, she said she would, but claims she cannot remember a single thing about the crash.
Vilified: Winter, the youngest inmate at Montana Women's Prison, said she found it hard to read the comments people have written about her breaks her silence
Winter said: 'If I knew then I would take responsibility for it.
'If it was me I would take complete, utter responsibility for it ... and I do.'
She said she has been hurt by some of the comments she has read or heard about the case.
'They are really hard to read,' Winter said. 'I read one that said I need to hang from a noose on a tree.'
Twisted wreckage: The remains of vehicle driven by Erin Thompson, who was pregnant at the time
The crash happened after Winter had fought with her boyfriend.
The argument continued through heated text messages as she drove home.
In one text, shortly before crash, she told her boyfriend Ryan Langford that she wanted to kill herself.
At her trial Winter and her defence team insisted it was an accident rather than a suicide attempt.
Tragedy: Erin Thompson, 35, and her son Caden, 13, died instantly in the collision
Proud moment: Caden was performing in a school concert and was on his way home the night he and his mother died
They even said it was the fault of Mrs Thompson, who was travelling at just 30mph at the time.
Winter had a multitude of injuries and suffered brain damage after going through countless surgeries.
She was found guilty of double homicide after Winter and her defence team insisted it was an accident rather than a suicide attempt.
Tribute: Jason Thompson said of his wife Erin that meeting her was the 'culmination of his dreams'
Winter's attorneys David Stufft and Maxwell Battle argued during the two-week trial in late February and early March and that it was Thompson's vehicle that crossed over into Winter's lane.
The theory was discredited by law enforcement officials, prosecutors, multiple crash reconstruction experts and an eyewitness.
But Winter - both in a written statement and during her testimony - appeared to maintain her belief that it was an accident.
Flathead County Deputy Attorney Lori Adams opened the trial by reading selected text messages allegedly sent from Winter’s cellular phone to her then-boyfriend Ryan Langford in the hours leading up to the crash.
Among them were the words 'It's ending' and 'I want to kill myself, good bye Ryan,' Adams said.
The final message was sent only six minutes before Winter’s car collided with Thompson's.
Sentence: Justine Winter, who was 16 at the time, was found guilty of double homicide and jailed for 15 years
The prosecution also argued that she was not even wearing a seatbelt.
After being found guilty of two counts of deliberate homicide, she was sentenced to two concurrent 30 year sentences, though the judge suspended 15 years of each.
The judge heaped praise on Erin Thompson's family, saying their courage and compassion was remarkable.
In return to the tragic loss and emptiness in their lives, they only asked that the 18-year-old apologise.
According to the Daily Inter Lake, when given a chance, the Evergreen resident seemed to stop short of accepting full responsibility.
Winter's sentencing on Monday June 6 came two days after she graduated with honours from Glacier High School. She did not attend graduation because she was in jail.
The interview with Justine Winter airs on the Dateline special Crossing The Line on NBC on Friday, 10pm, 9pm Central.
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