Suicide-pact mom changes mind; pleads guilty

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Nancy Lowe now wants the plea deal she rejected just days ago.

Hillsborough circuit Judge William Fuente, appeared surprised by the decision asked her today, "beyond that, did anyone promise you anything, threaten you in order to plead guilty?

Lowe answered, "No sir."

Last Thursday, Lowe was offered two years in prison and five years of probation by the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office, but she turned it down and wanted to go to trial.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge Greg Holder even pressed her on it.

Over the weekend, she apparently had a change of heart.

The assistant state prosecutor agreed to put the same offer back on the table in order to avoid putting the victims daughter, who's now 15, through the trauma of testifying.

Judge Fuente accepted it, with a few conditions. "You are not to have any unsupervised contact with the victim in this offense."

And with that, Lowe pleaded guilty to convincing her then-12-year-old daughter to go along with a failed suicide pact.  She set the garage on fire with both of them inside, but neighbors saw the flames and rescued them.

Prosecutors say detectives also found other evidence, including hand-written suicide notes for family members saying their goodbyes.

But now, three years later, Lowe has lost custody of her daughter and is headed to prison.