Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - 'Loving' Mom REVENGE-MURDERS 2 DAUGHTERS B/C HUBBBY LEAVES

Episode Date: April 20, 2023

Two young siblings are fed sleeping gummies before they are shot in their beds. Brooklyn is just five years old. Her sister, Sharon, is 15. The shooter is their mother,  Veronica Youngblood. Prosecutors say the murders were an attempt by the 37-year-old to 'get revenge' on her ex-husband. Ron Youngblood retired from the military, and despite the divorce, the entire family planned to move to Missouri. Veronica Youngblood would get an apartment near Ron Youngblood's new home. As the time to move grew nearer, Veronica Youngblood changed her mind. Ron did not.    Brooklyn was shot in the head as she slept. Sharon was shot in the chest and back.  Sharon managed to call 911, telling the dispatcher that her mother shot her. Veronica Youngblood ran, but even as she did she called her ex-husband, Ron Youngblood, to tell him that she'd shot the children and she hated him.  Joining Nancy Grace today: Stephen Udagawa -  attorney at Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig, fmr. assistant state attorney prosecuted Julie Schenecker   Caryn Stark- Psychologist; Twitter: @carnpsych Robert W. Crispin- Private Investigator “Crispin Special Investigations”, Former Federal Task Force Officer for the United States Department of Justice, DEA and Miami Field Division. Former Homicide and Crimes Against Children Investigator. CrispinInvestigations.com, Facebook: Crispin Specail Investigations Inc.  Dr. Jan Gorniak - Medical Examiner, Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner (Las Vegas, NV), Board Certified Forensic Pathologist  Ashe Short- Senior Editor for The Daily Wire, Dailywire.com Twitter @AsheSchow See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Did a mom murder both of her girls as part of a revenge plot against her husband? Could that be? Or are we horribly mistaken? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. First of all, let's start, as I start so many actual prosecutions in court with the 911 call.

Listen. Sharon Castro, 15, can be heard struggling to breathe in the 911 call. She tells the dispatcher her mother shot her in the chest. The teen keeps repeating, I don't want to die, please help me. The dispatcher promises the girl help is on the way Castro can then be heard telling the dispatcher her five-year-old sister is also in the apartment the 911 operator urges the team to keep breathing and stay with me as firefighters are heard breaking down the door and a police officer enters the apartment announcing himself two girls girls dead. And in that 911 call, you can hear his officers break down the door trying to save the girls. Again, I'm Nancy Grayson. This is Crime Stories.

Thanks for being with us. But could a mother actually murder both of her children as some sort of revenge? This is what we know. Take a listen to our friends at NBC4. Youngblood was arrested after calling her ex-husband and leaving him a voicemail, confessing and telling him she hated him. Two days later, five-year-old Brooklyn

was supposed to move to live with her father. Prosecutors say Youngblood killed the girls to prevent that. However, the defense paints the father as abusive and controlling. Partially why, the defense claims, Youngblood was driven into major depressive disorder. The defense drawing attention to this moment in the police interview. I am guilty. So your punishment should be what? Death penalty.

Death penalty? Youngblood seems to invite the death penalty, which Virginia has since abolished. With me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now. But first, I want to go out to senior editor for The Daily Wire at dailywire.com, Ash Short. Ash, thank you for being with us. Thanks for having me on. Explain to me exactly how the children were killed. Well, it was a completely tragic story.

She shot her daughters. So she shot her daughter, Brooklyn, who was just five years old, in the head. And she shot Sharon, who we heard on the 911 call, who was 15 years old, in her chest and her back. With me is high-profile lawyer joining us out of Tampa, Steve Utagawa. Steve, thank you for being with us. And Steve has tried so many cases, but he was a major force in the prosecution of Julie Schoenecker, a highly educated mom of two, angry at her husband because he was gone all the time. She had given up her career in the military after climbing up the ranks, clawing her way to the top to be with the children so he could

continue in his military career, which he did, and ultimately ends up shooting both of the children so he could continue in his military career, which he did, and ultimately ends up shooting both of the children. Steve Utagawa, thank you for being with us. Question to you. I think it's very difficult for jurors who probably relate to their own mothers, who were very likely loving and nurturing, self-sacrificing would always put their children before themselves i think it's very hard for jurors and even cops to accept a mother could murder her two girls i think it's very hard for anyone not even a parent, to understand why a parent would kill their children. So I think that was Ms. Schoenecker's avenue towards arguing that she must have been insane. So therefore, that's why she was not guilty of the crime, is that it's unfathomable for

a parent to think that you could kill your children unless you're crazy. Steve, as I recall, you had many women on the jury and they were of an age to where they could be moms. I'm just wondering how that plays into their jury deliberations because people think of their own mother. They think of how they love their own children if they are mothers. It makes it even more difficult to believe a mom would murder her child. And in that case, Steve Udagawa, isn't it true, Julie Schoenecker shot her teen girl who made all A's,

who was sitting at her computer, shot her in the mouth because she said her daughter was getting, quote, mouthy. Her words, not mine. That's correct. That's how I recall the evidence coming out, is that the daughter was at her computer with her back to the door and that machiniker came up from behind her and shot her in the head and then put the gun in her mouth and shot her in the mouth.

I got the breakdown for you. It's seven women, nine men, and half of the jurors had children. So my thought on that, Karen Stark joining me, a renowned psychologist joining us out of Manhattan at KarenStark.com. That's Karen with a C. Karen, we project, even as jurors, when we swear we're going to be completely fair, completely rational, completely unbiased, you can't help who you are. So when you hear facts and evidence, then you go back to the jury deliberation room. I could hear, I could imagine jurors saying, well, I just can't believe a mother would kill their child. I mean, I know they put up X, Y, and Z as evidence, but I just don't believe it. But there's no doubt, Nancy. I mean, think about us. It's really hard for us to comprehend.

How could any mother, any parent kill a child when that's your job is to protect your children? That's what it feels like. But these are people that don't have a conscience. Anyone who commits suicide, which is killing your children, has no conscience and they don't see their children as children. Their children can be ants that they could just step on. They don't have feelings. And that is not necessarily insanity. Not at all. It's cold-blooded, but it's not insanity. I want to hear more about the

allegations against this mom. But first of all, take a listen to our friends at Crime Online. Veronica Cascuba was born and raised in Argentina. She has described her childhood as violent. Cascuba told friends her mother and father beat her until she couldn't walk as a young child. She says her father beat her every day with a belt, broomstick, or branch. To add to the physical abuse at the hands of her parents, Veronica claims she was sexually abused by her grandfather for years until the adults in her life abandoned her and her younger sister. She was all alone with no adult supervision in Buenos Aires as a young teen.

And more. Veronica gave birth to her first daughter, Sharon, when she was just 16. And not long after, she met career Navy officer, Ron Youngblood. The relationship grew quickly, and the couple was soon married in a Las Vegas ceremony. The young family moved to the United States permanently. But as a Navy pilot, Ron Youngblood deployed once overseas. Three years after their wedding, Veronica and Ron welcomed a baby girl they named Brooklyn. Straight back out to Ash Short, Senior Editor, DailyWire.com.

Ash, again, thank you for being with us. So the mom in this scenario, Veronica Youngblood, has detailed to police a very tough upbringing in Argentina. That she was beaten when she was a child. That someone sex abused her. She says her grandfather. And she felt abandoned. But somehow she meets Navy Officer Ron Youngblood. I assume he was stationed there.

And the two fall in love and they move to the u.s permanently they get married and she has a baby girl named brooklyn yeah i i mean here's a woman that you know maybe she had been abused this is what we say we have no evidence to the contrary correct and you know you but you would think right just, just thinking as a mother, as anyone who's been around kids, that if you had such an upbringing that you wouldn't want to be that way with your own kids, that you would want to love them and give them everything that you didn't have. But it seems to be almost the opposite with young blood. You know, she started seeing her children almost as pawns that could be used in this divorce from her husband. So what we find out, what prosecutors allege, is that nine days before she shot her children, she purchased a gun she used to kill her daughter.

And she gave them sleeping pill gummies before she murdered them. So, you know, here's a woman that was cold and calculating. The prosecutors called her spiteful, selfish, vengeful, calculated, you know, all of these things that you wouldn't expect from someone, you know, with her upbringing because, like I said before, you would expect her to upbringing, because like I said before, you would expect her to, to want to give her children all the things that she didn't have. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace To Robert Crispin joining us, private investigator at Crispin Special Investigations,

former Federal Task Force officer with the DOJ, the DEA, the Miami Field Division, former Homicide and Crimes Against Children investigator. Robert Crispin, thank you for being with us. How many times have you caught a defendant, a suspect, dead in the water, red-handed, and they start with their sob story about how they were abused as a child? Multiple times. Multiple times. And the problem is, you know, people utilize children as weapons in so many cases, in so many cases. They weaponize the kids against the other, the husband against the wife, the wife against the husband. It's just relentless legal attacks, relentless accusations from lawyers against each other. and these people just get to a point

they snap there is no excuse for murder whoa did you say snap a snap absolutely okay uh you mean like snapped on oxygen no i mean snap snap are you suggesting somehow that snap is the defense oh i got mad and quote snapped because steve udag joining us, high profile lawyer out of Tampa. And there's no such thing as oops. I snapped. I snap about 10 times a day, but I don't murder anyone. That's not a defense. That's basically I got mad and kill somebody.

It happens all the time. What do you mean? Who is saying that? Is that Crispin or Steve? It's not Steve. I mean... Yes, thank you. Okay, Crispin, you have a great reputation as a private investigator.

Did you somehow get your J.D. or Juris Doctorate when I wasn't looking? No, not at all. Oh, okay. Then let me put it very sweetly. Shut your pie hole. Okay, Steve Utagawa. Yes, ma'am. Is Snap... Snap. Yes, ma'am. Is SNAP

SNAP. I snapped. I've already snapped at Jackie about eight times this morning. Sidney, you're next. Okay. Steve, SNAP is not a defense under the law regardless of what Robert Crispin, the private investigator, is telling us. Well, no, it's not a

defense, but it could be a basis for second-degree murder um if you wanted to go for a lesser from first degree murder my understanding is that this crime is a murder with premeditation you know the conscious intent to kill so i think uh and i don't think that's what they argued in this case i hate to tell you this but you are sounding awfully like a lawyer true when you say yeah if you say you got angry and quote snap, you could argue second degree. Let's be clear. Different jurisdictions are different. So correct me if you think

this is wrong. First degree murder in many jurisdictions require some degree of calculation. However, we all know that premeditation can be formed in the blink of an eye, a twinkling, the time it takes you to raise the gun, pull the trigger, and shoot. That's time under the law for premeditation. Now, a lesser offense such as voluntary manslaughter or the equivalent in some states, I guess you're saying murder two, would be that you were in a very volatile state. You were angry. The same old tired example, his husband walks in, finds the wife in bed with somebody else. Angry, you shoot them both. See, to me, that's still murder one. Because if you have time to go get your gun, point it and pull the trigger, that's time for premeditation.

That's revenge. That is pure out revenge. Punishing the wife and the lover. But that said, snap is not a defense such as accident or self-defense which are both complete defenses under the law and you're right i can prove i shot jackie dead and self-defense and a jury believes it i walk scott free that's a complete defense but it starts a chain of events just like premeditated murder it starts a chain of events where people think I can no longer deal with this. I'm done.

I'm over it. I'm going to buy a gun. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Going to buy a gun. What? That's total premeditation. Going and buying a gun. It's also called a cooling off period.

I get it. But we were talking about when I said the comment snapped, what I meant snapped is. Is this Crispin again? It is. See, I think I'm talking to Steve Utagawa, the lawyer about the law. Okay, Steve, snap defense. Explain. Snap defense to me would be you're arguing with somebody.

You get so upset. You pull out a gun and you shoot. And you're not really thinking about what you're arguing with somebody, you get so upset, you pull out a gun and you shoot. And you're not really thinking about what you're doing. To me, in Florida, that would be more for second-degree murder, that there's no premeditation, there's not enough time to really think about what you're doing. You just do it. And that's a lot of times a defense. I'm trying to think of an example of a second degree murder.

OK, think on that, because I want to I want everyone listening and watching to understand the Schoenecker case that we're talking about, that you were pivotal in the investigation and the court case. Take a listen to our cut 22, our friends at WFTS. This is how she looked hours after being arrested for shooting her own children to death. Both 13-year-old Bo and 16-year-old Kalix were star athletes and star students, and we now know it was just a few months ago when Kalix filed a police report saying her mother slapped and hit her in the face and even busted her lip. But that case was later closed, even though reports show Schoenecker admitted to hitting her daughter because she talked back. It's the same reason she told police she wanted her children

dead, a reason many find as sick as their murders. And more from Bay News 9. Police say about seven o'clock Thursday night, Schoenecker armed herself with a.38 caliber pistol she had just purchased over the weekend. They say she shot her son twice in the head in the family's garage, then went upstairs and shot her daughter in the back of the head while she was doing her homework. She did tell us that they talked back, that they they were mouthy and that she was tired of it detectives say shenekers mother contacted them from Texas Friday morning after receiving a disturbing email from her daughter and being unable to reach her when they arrived at the house they found her on a back patio covered in blood they also found a note describing how she planned

to kill her children and then herself. and your house coat having a glass of wine by the pool. So familiar. It reminds me of Susan Smith. She was going to drown herself with her kids, and somehow they died and she didn't. It happens all the time. I was going to kill all of us, but somehow I managed to survive. And we're talking about somebody because the kids were mouthy.

Well, this woman, back to Robert Crispin's misinterpretation of the law. I love saying that to you, Crispin. Is he still muted? He's got to be because he's not saying anything. I want you to hear this, Crispin, to Steve Utagawa's response regarding Snapped and his high-profile case of Julie Shinaker who murdered her two children this woman even wrote it all down in a diary and I want you to hear how she described murdering her son in our cut 33 from ABC we were told by a medical examiner today that Bo and Calix were shot at such close range that they actually had burn marks on their skin.

Her defense attorneys claim that she was insane at the time of the slayings. She was diagnosed bipolar with psychotic features and that her chronic mental illness stole everything from her, including her two children. The state says Schoenecker actually planned that Saturday massacre with a.38 revolver and hollow point bullets and then wrote about the slayings in a diary. I offed Bo on the way to practice. He saw the gun and told me to put it back in the purse.

He had a healthy fright. I accidentally shot the window. I shot him one extra shot through the side of the head. Then when we got home, a shot to his mouth because he became so mouthy, just like Kalix. And the state says that she also wrote in that diary that she would have killed her husband, Colonel Parker Schoenecker, had he been in the house at the time. Of course, he was on assignment in Afghanistan. And more in our cut 34 the diary talks in specifics about the two kids 13 year old beau and 16 year old calyx

she called me an evil soul and prince sees the evil starts thursday the technician went on to read another page labeled thursday the day of the murders the passage started talking about how she shot beau first in the car on the way to practice and she was surprised he had fight. He was yelling at me. First shot hit the windshield. Second shot was the side of the head. Next shot was to the mouth, his mouthy mouth. The diary talks about how both kids would talk back to Schoenecker and not treat her with respect, then describes the murder of her daughter. Came home, dash, Calix was on the upstairs computer.

She said, in quotations, what are you doing? Quotations, just see what you're doing. Walked up without her reacting and shot her in the right temple. Then shot her in the mouth. In parentheses, her sassy little mouth. Both of these beautiful children dead, and now history repeats itself. To Steve Utagawa, an instrumental part in the Julie Shinaker prosecution, what was Shinaker's motive?

Well, you know, again, as you know, when you're proving first-degree murder, we don't necessarily have to prove motive. Right. But, you know, in this case, I think her motive was is that she just wasn't happy in her life. And I think that she blamed maybe her children for that to a certain extent that they were, as she puts it, mouthy, disrespecting her. And I think she took out a lot of her maybe frustration in her own life, her own problems, and took them out on her children because, as she puts it, they were mouthy to her. They disrespected her.

And I don't find that an excuse. Karen Stark, psychologist joining us out of New York. You and I have analyzed this, and your analysis during the Shinneker trial was that Julie Shinneker was angry because her husband continued in his career and traveled a great deal, leaving her with the children to raise largely on her own. And she sought revenge. And that's not uncommon, Nancy. And a lot of these stories about women who kill their children, it really is them angry. They're angry at their husbands and they wind up using the children as a way to get back at them. Guys, take a listen to our cut 12, Bruce LaShawn at WSA 9.

Youngblood described raising Sharon in Argentina, piercing her ears but not having enough money to buy her clothes or food, celebrating both the girls' birthdays and their matching brown eyes. She told jurors her mother and father beat her every day as a child and then abandoned her as a teenager alone in Buenos Aires. When she met Ron Youngblood, a Navy pilot, they moved to the U.S. and he deployed overseas. Why did you leave me, she asked her ex, who sat stoically in the back of the courtroom. Why did you leave me alone with the girl, she asked him.

None of this would have happened, she said. So, as short, joining me, Senior Editor at The Daily Wire, is that, of course, as Utagawa has stated, the state never has to prove motive, but is that the working theory of the prosecution? That this mom, Veronica Youngblood, was angry that the dad wasn't there? Yes, in part. And angry that the dad was going to take the younger daughter, Brooklyn, who was five, and move to Missouri with her. And this was all for spite, all to get back at him. And, you know, we listen to that clip. And this whole case is just another example of, you know, here's a woman who is blaming a man, blaming her husband, just like Schoenecker did. You know, here's a woman who is blaming a man, blaming her husband, just like

Schoenecker did. You know, it's the husband's fault. She's basically upset because the husband's away all the time, left her with the children. Here's Veronica Youngblood, whose husband left her and she's claiming she did all of this because he left her. And, you know, arguing, maybe she shouldn't be punished as much. Maybe it should be insanity because you're a man. It's a man's fault. It's always a man's fault. Men abused her growing up. Grandfathers sexually abused her.

Now her husband is just terrible. And it's just this constant, we have it here in America, women blaming men for their problems, not taking responsibility. And you see it specifically in these women who murder their children. You know, we have the Julia Schenekers.

We have the Susan Smith. Susan Smith killed her children because she wanted to date a man who didn't want children, right? And now we have here, Veronica Youngblood. I mean, there are examples, I believe, of women who have, who actually do have mental problems who kill their children.

We have Andrea Yates, who had severe postpartum depression. Right. She's in a mental facility now. She denies her own review for her case. There's another woman who is going through this process currently, Lindy Clancy out of Massachusetts. She strangled her children and then slit her wrists and jumped out of a window. She's now paralyzed. So she is one of the few examples of a woman who did actually intend

to kill herself after her children. So we have those two cases where we can see this clear mental illness. But then we have the Veronica Youngbloods and the Julie Schoeneckers who are just upset with their life, upset with their husbands and take it out on the kids. I agree with everything that you just said, but I'd like to also point out that one out of three women in the U.S., according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, have been a victim of domestic violence.

Is that true in this case of Veronica Youngblood? No indication at all she had been abused in her marriage, nor Julie Shinaker, who we are also focusing on. I think I hear Karen Stark. Jump in, Karen. Well, it's manipulation, really. It's not about insanity at all, Nancy. They know the difference between right and wrong. They're angry and they manipulate the situation. They kill their children, really. It's all about revenge and anger.

I think I hear Crispin jumping in. Go ahead, Robert. No, no, I wasn't jumping in, but I totally agree with what everybody is saying and victimizing themselves. I'm the victim. I'm the victim. This is Steve. I just wanted to clarify with Ms. Schoenecker. She did have a long history of mental health issues. She had been hospitalized earlier.

I don't want to say probably 10 years before this incident. So there was documentation that she did suffer from either bipolar disorder or depression. I thought it was more on the grounds in the range of depression. And that was one of the reasons why we came off of the death penalty, because Ms. Schoenecker, we were looking at originally at the death penalty for her. But once, you know, there was a lot of documented evidence. Can I ask you a lightning round, Steve? Sure. Lightning round, yes, no? Isn't it true that Julie Schoenecker purchased the gun ahead of time? Yes. Isn't it true that she murdered both of her children while her husband was out of town? No one was there to stop her? Yes. Isn't it true that Julie Schoenecker murdered both children outside the purview of any witness? One in the garage, one upstairs in her bedroom? Correct correct and isn't it true she kept a diary of what she did that is true as well okay well bye-bye insanity defense exactly that was clearly

well thought out you know to dr jan gorniak renowned medical examiner joining us out of vegas dr gorniak thank you for being with. Have you ever handled a case where a child was killed by their own mother? Yes, I have. And I had a similar case. Exactly like they killed her kids and then ended up in a different state, going to the emergency room saying that she wanted to kill herself too, but left her kids back in the house dead and then called the ex-husband on the way as she's driving.

She had the wherewithal to call the husband and taunt the husband with the knowledge that she had killed the child, which goes toward a revenge killing. Let me ask you, Ash Short joining us from the Daily Wire. Ash, in this case, speaking of the father, the bio dad being elsewhere and not there in the home, isn't it true that they had reached a divorce and everyone, including the mom, Veronica Youngblood, was going, they were all going to move to Missouri and then she, Veronica Youngblood, got a job and decided to stay where they were in Fairfax County, Virginia.

That's why the husband was gone. Based on their mutual decision, the whole family would move to Missouri. Absolutely. And then she changed her mind and then she used that as her excuse to kill her kids and blame her husband. And when we look at these cases, I mean, beyond this, because Steve had mentioned, you know, taking the death penalty off of Schoenecker. Well, that is another thing that happens with women. You know, women receive 60 men receive 63 percent longer sentences on average than women for the same crime. And so we see this in this case.

We see this over and over again with these women who kill their children, not getting the death penalty. There have been women who've gotten the death penalty. I'm not going to say none. But Veronica Youngblood, well, she hasn't been sent. But we look at Susan Smith, Andrea Yates. We look at Schoenecker. No death penalty. Life without parole or, you know, possibility of parole.

And look at Lori Vallow. Lori Vallow reportedly killed her two children, orchestrated several murders. She's a serial killer and the death penalty is off the table. You're right. But the death penalty is not off the table for her husband who's charged with the same crime. You're right. The death penalty has not been taken off the table for the so-called prophet Chad Daybell. Very astute analysis, Ash. So you're hearing that the whole family had planned to move to Missouri together, even though they were getting a divorce,

so they could co-parent. And then it's Veronica Youngblood that reneges on the deal, and then the retaliation begins. Take a listen to our friends at CrimeOnline.com and Our Cut 5. Weeks after negotiating and settling the court case and with the divorce case

still pending, Veronica Youngblood tossed Rob's cell phone in a toilet, splashed water on his laptop and scratched his car according to a motion filed by Ron. Ron Youngblood obtained a family abuse protective order against Veronica Youngblood from the Fairfax Juvenile and Domestic

Relations Court. Veronica was ordered out from the Fairfax Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Veronica was ordered out of the Oakton townhouse and to stay at least 500 feet away from Ron. With the protective order still in place, the Youngblood's divorce was finalized. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. crime stories with nancy grace well it sounds to me ash short joining us from dailywire.com that that tpo temporary protective order wasn't really worth the paper it was printed on no absolutely not and that's usually the case i'm surprised he was able to get one at all. Usually women can get these like candy. And for a man, it doesn't matter whether she violates it or not. They're not going to do anything. So I'm actually really shocked that he was able to get that.

But of course, it didn't matter. And he continued to do this. Where were they shot on their body, Ash? Yes, Sharon was shot in her chest and her back she ended up surviving fight when she called 9-1-1 she died later at a hospital brooklyn was just shot in the head she died at the scene and remember brooklyn was just five years old dr jean gorniak one child clearly suffered. Called 911 gasping for breath. The other died more instantly. But what would the child have endured that tried to get help to live? What were her last moments? Oh, I can only imagine how scary it was. She even said, I don't want to die. So obviously she shot in the chest, most likely got her lung.

So she's bleeding into her chest, having difficulty breathing, possibly aspirating or swallowing some of that blood back into her lungs or into her stomach. And just fear, sheer terror and fear. And for her to have survived a couple of days, she probably went into shock from a lot of loss of blood. So this is the woman that reportedly threw her husband's cell phone into the commode, threw water on his laptop, keyed his car, and now she's got the children. If you don't believe in the prosecution's theory,

I want you to take a listen to Drew Wilder from NBC4 and Our Cut 17. New video of Veronica Youngblood's interview with police in the hours after she shot and killed her daughters, 5-year-old Brooklyn and 15-year-old Sharon. In the interview, Youngblood references her plan to kill her daughters several times. Buy a gun and kill my daughters and me. So to buy a gun and kill your daughters and yourself? Yes. Inside their McLean apartment on August 5th, 2018,

Youngblood's defense attorneys concede she shot and killed the girls. 15-year-old Sharon was still alive when police arrived and that officer testified quote she said her mom came into the room and said i'm gonna take you to see god and then shot her and more in our cut 16 from wsa9 what happened that night was crazy youngblood told jurors i lost control she She said Sharon was praying before she shot her and said, Mommy, we're going to die tonight. Ron Youngblood told jurors of his own pain, how Brooklyn loved animals, how he and Sharon made silly faces at a restaurant,

how Sharon made him a Father's Day collage he still keeps as a screensaver on his phone, how he built the girls' memorials in Chantilly and his hometown in Missouri. There inscribed, children are true miracles. To Robert Crispin, a private investigator joining us from Crispin Special Investigations. Robert lost control. That's total BS, technical legal term. She went and bought the gun according to her, her words, not ours, in order to kill her children. She did not lose control.

This was planned. This was not an uncontrollable impulse. But how many times, Robert Crispin, in all the cases you have investigated which are many many cases thousands of cases does the perp say oh I just lost it like that's going to somehow condone what they did I lost it that's the excuse that they use Nancy it happens all the time we hear it all the time but that's no justification for what they've done clearly there were so many systematic steps leading up to this homicide. And I don't even think I would want to listen to the 911 tape of this 15-year-old trying to catch her last

breath saying, I don't want to die. That has just got to be the most gut-wrenching 911. And I can tell you, the dispatcher and the cops who responded to that are still affected today. And if you don't think that cops are affected by child crimes, they are for many, many years. A revenge killing, a double murder by a mom angry at her husband. Take a listen to our cut 15 from Bruce LaShawn. Weeping loudly despite the medications, she says she is taking to control her emotions. Youngblood fed her daughters sleeping pill gummies in 2018 at her McLean apartment. Then she shot Brooklyn in the head and Sharon in the back and in the chest. Sharon was able to call 911 and tell first responders what her mother had done.

She died at the hospital. Veronica Youngblood called her ex after the shooting, leaving a message that she had killed the girls and that she hated him. Karen Stark, psychologist. That is clearly a revenge killing. That's a revenge killing. After she murdered the girls, she calls her husband to say,

I hate you, I murdered your girls. And she blamed everything and continues to blame everything on him, Nancy. It's his fault that she did that. She's not taking responsibility for her actions and blaming everything. It's so clearly revenge killing that, I mean, this could be a textbook case and to you as short senior editor daily wire isn't it true the whole missouri move was because the husband ronald youngblood had to move to missouri this is something that happened millions of times in america and all around the world that you know a man gets a job a woman is taking care of the kid and they move.

I mean, I myself moved all over the country when I was a kid because my father got another job. It's what you do. And, you know, Youngblood decided, Veronica Youngblood decided she didn't want, at the last minute, she didn't want to go. And she got a job and she wanted to stay. So, I mean, this is just something that happens millions of times. And yet in this instance, she decided to use this as yet more evidence to get revenge on her husband. Yet another reason to get revenge on him. And she did.

She killed her kids to prevent them from moving with him. Two girls dead, Brooklyn and Sharon, robbed of everything, their life, their future. No more proms, no more straight A's, no more cheerleading, no more plans of a wedding one day, of children themselves, of going to college. It's all over in that one moment. A double revenge murder. Convicted, now youngblood, furiously working on her appeal. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.