Twin’s Father Turns Himself In to Sheriff

The father of a Siamese twin girl saved by a rare operation turned himself in to authorities hours after he skipped a probation hearing and was sentenced to a year in prison.

Kenneth Lakeberg walked in to the Newton County sheriff’s office late Friday. Earlier in the day, Superior Court Judge Daniel Molter revoked his probation, gave him a one-year prison sentence and issued a warrant for his arrest.

Lakeberg, 26, did not tell authorities why he skipped the hearing, which was ordered after his probation officer said Lakeberg admitted using drugs and had failed a drug test.

The one-year prison sentence is what Lakeberg had initially faced after slashing his cousin’s hand with a butcher knife during a brawl last Christmas.

“I have always been puzzled by the fact that the defendant committed these violations while . . . he and his wife were staring in the face of monumental medical decisions,” Molter said.

Lakeberg’s wife, Reitha, gave birth to conjoined twins on June 29 at a hospital in suburban Chicago. Amy and Angela shared a heart and liver tissue. They were separated Aug. 20 at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Amy died, but Angela, who received the heart, survived and remains hospitalized in serious but stable condition.

Lakeberg had admitted going on a cocaine binge about the time of his daughters’ separation, using $1,300 in charitable contributions raised for the children.