'Southern Momma' Who Shot Kids' Cell Phones Loses Custody of Teens After New Stunt
A Georgia mom who took the internet by storm after video of her shooting her kids' cell phones as a punishment went viral has reportedly lost custody of her two youngest children.
Deborah Smith of Coweta County originally made headlines with her creative discipline technique and colorful condemnation of social media.
Parents both celebrated and condemned her, but Smith said her technique worked, at least for a while.
Parents both celebrated and condemned her, but Smith said her technique worked, at least for a while.
But soon she said her sons Ethan and Robbie began to stay out all night, do and sell drugs, and leave her to deal with "the aftermath" as they slept all day.
Read: Mother Who Set Newborn Baby On Fire After Hiding Pregnancy Gets 30 Years in Prison
"Today, we’re going to take that option of where to sleep away,” Smith says, shotgun in hand, in a newer video, posted April 5. “I’ve had enough.”
The camera soon pans to a smoldering fire as Smith is heard in the background cocking her weapon.
She pulls the trigger and the fire roars once again.
"Boys," she says as the camera focuses on a pile of hot ash, "this is all that's left of your beds. I'm sorry. But they exploded."
This time around, not everyone is laughing at Smith's creative parenting.
Someone reported the video to Coweta County Department of Children and Family Services. According to AJC.com, a social worker told Smith she had to sign a “safety plan” and agree not to use weapons in front of the children.
Read: Parents Who Forced Emaciated 6-Year-Old Boy to Live On Hot Dog Smoothies Sentenced to 20 Years
Smith refused to sign away her First and Second Amendment rights, she told AJC, and the department took away her two youngest teens.
“They’re at the cusp of being 17 years old, where it goes from being juvenile offenses to adult offenses,” she said. “I just don’t know where it’s gonna end. I don’t want them to die.”
In a follow-up video that appears to have been posted after her run-in with Family Services but before the teens were taken away, Smith seems to address the "safety plan."
"I've been told I can no longer use a gun or film anymore videos because it might damage my child," she says, before explaining:
"Yes, I blew up my children’s phones. Yes, I burned my children’s mattresses. I wanted my children’s attention before it’s too late for them to learn how to be a responsible, respectful adult."
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