A Virginia woman who was convicted of murdering her two daughters to spite her ex-husband received a recommended sentence of 78 years in prison from a jury Monday.
Veronica Youngblood, 37, of McLean, Virginia, had previously started screaming during her sentencing hearing last Thursday, shouting “no, no, no!” before being restrained and removed from the courtroom, WUSA reported. Youngblood reportedly kept screaming even as the judge told people to leave the room.
The day before, Youngblood was convicted on two counts each of first-degree murder and felony firearm use, Law & Crime reported. Youngblood shot and killed her daughters, 15-year-old Sharon and 5-year-old Brooklynn, on August 5, 2018.
“Sharon and Brooklynn are two children that should be alive today,” Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano said in a statement. “I have an 11-year-old daughter who has her whole life ahead of her — and it guts me to imagine her life cut short. This case is a terrible tragedy and I hope today’s verdict brings a measure of healing for the family.”
Youngblood shot Brooklyn in the head and Sharon in her chest and back. Sharon managed to call 911 and tell authorities that her mother shot her. Brooklyn died at the scene, while Sharon died at a hospital sometime later.
While Sharon spoke with 911, Youngblood called her ex-husband Ron Youngblood and left a message saying she shot their children and that she hated him.
“The suspect, 33-year-old Veronica Youngblood, was found in Loudoun County after an acquaintance called police when Youngblood knocked on their front door,” Fairfax County police said in a press release in 2018.
Prosecutors said at trial that Youngblood killed her children to get back at her ex-husband for planning to move to Missouri with their youngest daughter.
“This person wants to manipulate, this person wants to lie, ensue chaos, all for this person’s personal gain,” prosecutor Claiborne Richardson said at trial, according to Law & Crime. “Ms. Youngblood is spiteful, selfish, vengeful and calculated.”
Nine days before the shooting, Youngblood purchased the gun she used to kill her daughter. She also gave them sleeping pill gummies before she murdered them.
Youngblood pleaded not guilty and claimed insanity, saying she had been physically and sexually abused growing up. She said she went into sex work to care for her first daughter, Sharon, and that she met Ron through sex work.
She went on to blame Ron for the girls’ deaths as he sat in the courtroom.
“Why did you leave me?” Youngblood asked him from the stand. “Why did you leave me alone with the girls? None of this would have happened!”