A Pennsylvania mother and her adult daughter were sentenced on Monday to life in prison in the killings of five relatives, including three children, who were strangled and suffocated because the defendants purportedly believed the world was ending.
Shana Decree, 47, and Dominique Decree, 21, were handed five consecutive life terms in Bucks County Court after entering guilty but mentally ill pleas to five counts of first-degree murder.
President Judge Wallace Bateman told the two that they had caused 'unimaginable' harm, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
'This is horrible and tragic, because I do believe the two of you have expressed remorse,' Bateman said Monday as he sentenced the defendants. 'Unfortunately, that doesn't bring them back. You can't say, "Sorry" and expect people to move on with their lives.'
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Shana Decree, 47, left, and her daughter Dominique Decree, 21, were sentenced Monday to life in prison in the slayings of five relatives, including three children, outside Philadelphia
Crime scene tape surrounds the Robert Morris Apartments in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, on February 26, 2019, a day after five people were found murdered inside
Both women offered tearful apologies to the court and other relatives in the courtroom.
'The hardest thing for me to do is decide who to say I´m sorry to first,' Shana said. 'To my family, I am sorry for taking away these beautiful souls in such a horrible manner.'
Dominique Decree sobbed as she said her actions will haunt her for the rest of her life.
'I'm so sorry for everything that happened, and I truly don't understand why it happened,' she said.
A children and youth services case worker who went to the Morrisville apartment on February 25, 2019, found the bodies of Shana Decree's children, Naa'Irah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr., 13, both of Morrisville; Shana Decree's sister Jamilla Campbell, 42, of Trenton, New Jersey; and Campbell's 9-year-old twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen.
Campbell had been strangled and the others had been suffocated, the coroner's office determined.
Police said the defendants were found 'disoriented' inside the apartment, where furniture had been turned over, drywall was cracked and glass lay around. Authorities said they later gave conflicting stories of what had occurred but said everyone in the unit, including the children, 'wanted to die' and spoke of suicide.
Twins Imani and Erika Allen, nine, the daughters of Dominique's aunt, were suffocated to death
Shana's son, Damon Decree, 13, was among the dead inside the family's apartment
Naa'Irah Smith, 25 , had been suffocated by her mother, Shana
Dominique has been charged over the death of her aunt Jamilla Campbell, 42
Deputy District Attorney Christopher Rees said Monday that the killings took place over the course of three days.
Court-appointed psychologists and psychiatrists concluded that both defendants had severe mental illness, including schizoid personality disorder, major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Both had sought mental health treatment, and Dominique's attorney John Fioravanti Jr. said his client started from age 5.
Shana's attorney, Christa Dunleavy, said her client was isolated and delusional at the time of the killings, believing 'the world was ending and there were demons in her house, and she had to obey them.'
A prosecutor said the family's killings took place inside the apartment over the course of three days
Police said the defendants were found 'disoriented' inside the apartment, where furniture had been turned over
'Her family tried to help her,' Dunleavy said, 'But the delusions were too strong."
Attorneys for both defendants said their clients had expressed horror and remorse following the killings.
District Attorney Matt Weintraub said in a statement that if not for their 'severe mental illness,' both defendants would face the death penalty, but instead they will 'spend the rest of their lives in prison cells separated from the rest of us.'
'By murdering Erica, Imani, Damon, Naa´irah, and Jamilla, they've decimated entire generations of their own family,' Weintraub said. 'It tests my faith in humanity and in God. But I have to believe in both. The alternative is so much worse.'
