A mother who killed three of her children and tried to kill a fourth by driving the family car into a Melbourne lake has been jailed for at least 20 years.
Akon Guode, 37, was sentenced to a maximum of 26 years and six months with a non-parole period of 20 years over the deaths of her three children and attempted murder of a fourth child.
![A group watches on as police divers prepare to remove Akon Guode's car from the lake. Photo/News Corp Australia](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/JKEU77FTPLRYKEE2443G56A2ZU.jpg?auth=c03e12c1dd3c0dc45c53ab6f9af3703e050c6721ec296ec581d677cefe249add&width=16&height=10&quality=70&smart=true)
![One-year-old Bol (left) and four-year-old twins Madit and Anger (right) died after the 4WD they were in crashed into a lake at Wyndham Vale in Melbourne's outer west. Photo/Twitter](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/F2YYWUDRV43DAL6Z76YS72PXDM.jpg?auth=7643cff0e46ff4460ed7b2db22262c20df3001920134f03e7859eb8b6700068e&width=16&height=10&quality=70&smart=true)
The Sudanese refugee wailed in court as Justice Lex Lasry outlined the difficult personal circumstances Guode had experienced in the years before she killed her one-year-old son Bol, and four-year-old twins Hanger and Madi, by driving her 4WD into a Wyndham Vale lake on April 8, 2015.