A Virginia woman has been found guilty of murdering her two children in an apparent bid to get revenge on her ex-husband – and she was dragged out of court screaming as prosecutors called for her to get a life sentence.
Veronica Youngblood, 37, admitted to sedating and killing Sharon Castro, 15, and Brooklynn Youngblood, 5, in 2018 but pleaded not guilty on grounds of insanity.
The jury was not convinced that mental illness was a mitigating factor in the mother’s decision to give her children sleeping gummies before shooting them dead.
As her teenage daughter lay dying, Veronica called her ex-husband Ron Youngblood to say she hated him and that she had shot the children.
The panel on Wednesday convicted Youngblood of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of felony firearm use.
According to The Washington Post, Youngblood killed her children in her McLean apartment in revenge for her ex-husband’s plans to relocate with their youngest, Brooklynn.
Fairfax County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Kelsey Gill told the court she was a ‘malicious, selfish and deliberate killer’.
Gill said during closing statements: ‘This case goes well beyond merely having a mental illness.
‘This goes well beyond depression. This goes well beyond PTSD. This goes well beyond being suicidal.’
Fairfax County Public Defender Dawn Butorac said the mother’s attacks were driven by her upbringing, growing up in poverty, subject to physical and sexual abuse by family members, and leading her to become a sex worker after becoming pregnant with her eldest at the age of 16.
Butorac said she had met her former husband as a sex worker, marrying in 2009 and having Brooklynn together in 2012.
The defense lawyer also said Youngblood had been hearing voices.
A distressed Youngblood was recorded telling investigators she was guilty and deserved the death penalty for killing her children. Prosecutors said that she was manipulative and calculated.
She had bought a handgun nine days before shooting her children dead.
Youngblood also gave her children sleeping gummies to ensure they would not be able to resist.
Brooklynn died from a gunshot to the head.
Sharon called the police after she was shot once in the back and once in the chest and reported that her mother had shot them. She died in hospital.
Youngblood, then 33, was found after an acquaintance called police when she knocked on the door, McLean Police District reported.
She was taken into custody on 6 August 2018 without incident and held without bond.
The firearm believed to be involved was recovered upon her arrest.
Since Parkland, a teen journalism project reporting on child gun deaths, said Brooklynn Youngblood was described as a ‘super cute kid’ by her figure skating coach.
The website noted that in 2016, Youngblood’s former spouse had requested a protective order against her concerning a 4-year-old child.
Sharon, also a figure skater, had nearly reached her $5,000 GoFundMe target for medical bills after suffering a ‘horrific event’.