A mom from northern California who has been behind bars for over 25 years may be getting released. Megan Hogg killed her three daughters by duct-taping their mouths and feet back in the late ’90s. She was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, but now that she’s done the 25 years, she might actually be freed. For the second time in less than 10 years, the parole board has decided Hogg is eligible and fit to be released, but relatives of her daughters believe it’s the wrong decision. The first time, the decision was overturned and the woman remained incarcerated. Now, we just have to wait and find out what might happen.
On March 23, 1998, then 25-year-old Hogg taped the mouths and feet of her daughters, then 2, 3, and 7 years old, and smothered them to death, KRON reported. Prosecutors said she committed the crime “out of anger that the children loved their grandmother who was taking care of the children more than her.”
Hogg pleaded no contest to three counts of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
A parole hearing for Hogg took place on February 20, 2026, at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla. Of the 10 family members in attendance, seven of Hogg’s immediate family members supported her release, per KRON. Two family members from the girls’ father’s side, however, opposed her release. A third family member deferred to the parole board’s decision.
The parole board found now 53-year-old Hogg suitable for parole. She was denied parole in 2019, 2021, and 2023.
On February 23, the district attorney’s office said it “continues to strongly oppose Megan Hogg’s release on parole,” KRON reported.
The case will be sent to Governor Gavin Newsom for review. The last time Hogg was deemed suitable for parole was 2018, SF Gate reported at the time. At the review, the panel found that Hogg “no longer constitutes an unreasonable risk of danger to the community,” according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
According to SF Gate, Hogg’s daughters were found dead by their grandmother. Hogg had also attempted suicide at the same time by drinking hot chocolate laced with about 40 tablets of codeine, Tylenol, Vicodin, and Trazodone.
She had been diagnosed with depression two years prior and was prescribed multiple antidepressant medications. According to court records, she killed her daughters to “spare them the problems that she had faced in her own life,” SF Gate reported in 2018.
Family members said that at the time of the trial, Hogg was having frequent seizures because of a head injury. They believe she lost the will to live as a result.
Serious rules violations, violation of prison rules on dealing drugs within the prison, disciplinary issues, and poor parole plans were among the reasons the district attorney’s office didn’t believe Hogg should be granted parole.
According to KRON, then Governor Jerry Brown reversed the board’s decision four months later.
