Morrisville killings | |
---|---|
Location | Morrisville, Pennsylvania, United States |
Coordinates | 40°12′27″N 74°46′48″W / 40.20750°N 74.78000°W |
Date | February 26, 2019 |
Deaths | 5 |
The Morrisville killings occurred on February 26, 2019, when Shana Selena Decree and her daughter, Dominique Kiaran Decree, allegedly killed five relatives, including three children, at their apartment in Morrisville, Pennsylvania.[1]
Incident
Police say Shana and Dominique said their family members wanted to die, so they and Shana's sister choked four to death before the sister was choked to death by Dominique.[2] The bodies were later found after a social worker went to check on the house. A maintenance worker had to unlock the door after there was no response to the initial knocking.[3] Shana and Dominique were then arrested for the deaths.
Legal proceedings
Shana and Dominique Decree were charged with five counts of first degree murder and one count of conspiracy.[4]
On Tuesday 18 February 2020, both suspects pleaded not guilty to all charges. A trial is set for 8 June 2020.[5] However, an extension was given due to the judicial emergency declared in Bucks County amid the coronavirus outbreak in the state. Prosecutors then had three more months to pursue the death penalty for the two on the 28th September 2020.[6]
The two were sentenced to life in prison without the death penalty after pleading guilty to 5 counts of first degree murder on September 28, 2020[7]
References
- ↑ Miller, Rudy (2020-09-28). "Mother, daughter admit they killed 5 relatives in Bucks County". lehighvalleylive. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
- ↑ Levenson, Eric (26 February 2019). "Police say a mother and daughter killed 5 family members. The mother says they all wanted to die". CNN. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
- ↑ Newman, Meredith; Garrison, Joey (26 February 2019). "'Unspeakable tragedy': Mom, teen daughter charged with killing five family members in Philadelphia suburb". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
- ↑ "Pennsylvania: Shana Decree and teen daughter Dominique charged with murder of five relatives". Sky News. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
- ↑ Catalini, Mike (19 February 2020). "Mom, Daughter Plead Not Guilty to Killing 5 Relatives". nbcphiladelphia.com. NBC Philadelphia. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ↑ Dornblaser, Christopher. "Deadline extended again for death penalty decision in Morrisville killings". Bucks County Courier Times. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
- ↑ Vella, Vinny (28 September 2020). "Bucks mother and daughter get life in prison after admitting murder of five relatives, including 9-year-old twin girls". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved 2021-01-08.