FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) — A jury said a woman should receive a prison sentence of up to 78 years after it found her guilty of the 2018 murders of her two daughters.
A statement from Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said that Veronica Youngblood shot 15-year-old Sharon Castro and 5-year-old Brooklynn Youngblood, in their apartment in McLean on August 5, 2018.
According to the statement, Youngblood told detectives that she wanted to kill her daughters and herself after a custody dispute. Brooklynn was supposed to move to Missouri with Youngblood’s ex-husband that weekend.
The statement said that Youngblood bought a gun on July 27. It said that she gave her daughters sleeping gummies before shooting them.
Descano’s statement said that a jury convicted Veronica Youngblood of four felonies last week.
The jury found that she was guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of use of a firearm in commission of a murder.
“Sharon and Brooklynn are two children that should be alive today. 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,” Descano said in the release.
Youngblood’s sentencing is scheduled for September 22.