The Limestone County mother accused in the bathtub scalding of her two children is seeking new representation, records show.

Amanda Marie Reyer, 23, of 21038 Tillman Mill Road, has asked the Limestone County District Court to appoint a new attorney in her case. The request came in the form of a two-page, typewritten petition filed Oct. 13 in Limestone County Circuit Court.

District Judge Jerry Batts has scheduled a hearing on the request for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 27.

Reyer is charged with two counts of first-degree domestic violence and two counts of aggravated child abuse. She and Derrick Lynn Defoe, 29, are accused of scalding Reyer’s two children — 2 1/2-year-old Adriauna and 5-year-old Cameron — in a bathtub at their Tillman Mill Road home on June 14.

She claims in her petition her court-appointed attorney, Lucas Beaty, “has not kept her informed, nor has she been able to communicate with counsel because he does not respond to her written communications nor does he accept or return her telephone communications.”

Her petition states she has asked Beaty to request a reduction in her bail, but he has not done so.

Defoe bail lowered

Meanwhile, Batts agreed Oct. 9 to reduce Defoe’s bail to $130,000 after Defoe’s attorney, Garry Clem, requested the reduction. Defoe’s release is subject to the following conditions: He must live with Timothy Defoe of Easter Ferry Road in Athens, he must not contact Reyer, Adriauna or Cameron, and he must adhere to a 9 p.m. curfew.

Although Defoe’s bail has been lowered, he has not made bail and remains in the Limestone County Jail.

Reyer’s petition also states Beaty has an “extremely heavy caseload and he doesn’t have time to represent petitioner…” A note at the top of the page, in handwriting, reads: Respectfully requesting Kristi Valls.

Valls, a former Limestone County district attorney, is now in private practice and is also on the roster of attorneys assigned to represent those who cannot afford to hire one.

The children

Adriauna suffered second- and third-degree burns over 80 percent of her body. Cameron suffered second- and third-degree burns over 30 percent of his body. Reyer had taken the girl to Athens-Limestone Hospital the evening of June 14 and claimed she fell into a hot tub. The report triggered an investigation, during which burns were also found on the 5-year-old.