Troy Smith
Veronica Youngblood, a 37 year old Virginia mother, was charged with double homicide for killing her two daughters, aged 15 and 5, on Wednesday.
Videos by Rare
The murders occurred on August 5th, 2018 in McLean, Virginia home. Sharon Castro, age 15, and Brooklyn Youngblood, age 5 were discovered with bullet wounds. Sharon Castro was able to dial 9-1-1 before dying.
Police immediately arrested the mother. Veronica Youngblood pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. People reports…
She had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, The Washington Post reported.
“This case goes well beyond merely having a mental illness,” Fairfax County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Kelsey Gill said during closing arguments, according to the Post. “This goes well beyond depression. This goes well beyond PTSD. This goes well beyond being suicidal.”
Prosecutors argued that Youngblood murdered her children to get back at her ex-husband who was allegedly scheduled to move out of the state with Brooklynn, the Post reported.
Youngblood allegedly purchased a gun nine days before the murders and gave her daughters sleeping pill gummies before she shot Brooklynn once in the head and Sharon twice, according to the Post.
Before Sharon died, she was able to call 911 and talk to officers on the scene.
“She said her mom came into the room and said, ‘I’m gonna take you to see God,’ and then shot her,” an officer testified, NBC4 reported.
Brooklynn died at the scene.
Youngblood was taken into custody after she called her ex-husband and left a voicemail telling him she loathed him and admitting to the killings, according to NBC4.
Youngblood’s attorney claimed she had been physically and sexually abused and was hearing voices that commanded her to kill her daughters prior to the murders, WTOP reported.
A local outlet reports…
Veronica Youngblood was found guilty Wednesday of murdering her 15-year-old daughter, Sharon Castro, and 5-year-old daughter, Brooklynn Youngblood, inside their Fairfax County apartment in August 2018. The 37-year-old mother was back in court Thursday for the penalty phase of her trial, but ultimately had to be taken out of the room after she leapt up and began shouting at prosecutors.Â
“No, no, no!” Youngblood yelled, as deputies wrestled her out of the courtroom.
She kept screaming from the lockup as the judge cleared the room.
Fairfax County Asst. Commonwealth’s Kelsey Gill had just told jurors that Youngblood is a murderer, not a victim. Gill was describing all the life experiences her children missed because their mother murdered them, when Youngblood jumped up and rushed into the well of the courtroom. A deputy grabbed her in a bear hug as she kept screaming.
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/virginia/veronica-youngblood-convicted-murder-daughters-jury-trial-sentencing-fairfax-county/65-72edb373-e1e5-41aa-9cb7-c228bf939b74
A total tragedy!
