Virginia Woman Convicted Of Drugging, Fatally Shooting Her 2 Daughters In A Plot To Get Revenge On Ex-Husband Who Was Leaving Her

A jury in Virginia convicted a woman of killing her two daughters and rejected her insanity defense, as prosecutors said the case went “well beyond merely having a mental illness,” officials said.

On Aug. 5, 2018, Veronica Youngblood, 37, shot 15-year-old Sharon Castro and 5-year-old Brooklyn Youngblood and then called her ex-husband to tell him that she killed the children and she hated him, the Washington Post reported.

While Veronica was leaving a message for her ex-husband, Ron Youngblood, her teen daughter, who was shot in the back and the chest, called 911 and told them her mother shot her. Sharon died at the hospital and Brooklyn was pronounced dead at the scene after being shot once in the head.

During the trial, prosecutors said the murders were vengeance against Ron, who was planning to move to Missouri and take Brooklyn with him.

Prosecutors stated Veronica bought the gun used in the murders days before with the sole purpose of killing her daughters. She then gave them sleeping pills before shooting them, officials said.

Veronica’s attorney, Dawn Butorac, argued that Youngblood was from Argentina and grew up in poverty and was physically and sexually abused by family members. She said Veronica became a sex worker, which is how she met Ron and married him in 2009.

In her closing arguments, Butorac reminded jurors that Veronica told investigators that she was guilty and wanted to die. Her sister, Maira Kaczuba, testified that Youngblood was hearing voices and practiced a South American religion that believed they could communicate with the dead through rituals.

Prosecutors argued that Youngblood is “spiteful, selfish, vengeful and calculated” and she does this for her own “personal gain,” officials said.

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Youngblood was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of felony firearm use last week.

The jury is currently deliberating on a sentence, but prosecutors argued for two life sentences and Youngblood’s attorneys recommended the minimum sentence of 46 years, WUSA reported.

Veronica did testify during the sentencing phase and seemingly blamed her ex-husband for the murders, WUSA reported. She looked at him in the courtroom and said, “Why did you leave me? Why did you leave me alone with the girls? None of this would have happened!”