A Virginia mother convicted of murdering her two daughters will likely spend the rest of her life in prison. Veronica Youngblood, 38, claims she was a good mother before the 2018 killings that landed her behind bars for the next 78 years. Her ex-husband, Ron Youngblood, 52, alleges she fatally shot their daughters to get back at him.
Today, Ron Youngblood mourns the loss of his daughters, Sharon Castro, 15, and Brooklyn Youngblood, 5. He told the New York Post that his ex used the girls as leverage because they "were the most important things in my life." Now, his world is shattered, but there is a bit of vindication in Virginia Youngblood's sentence.
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The mother brutally murdered the girls.
According to multiple reports, Virginia Youngblood gave her daughters melatonin gummies to get them to fall asleep and then shot them. According to Fox News, she put a bullet in Brooklyn's head and shot Sharon in the back and chest.
Sharon didn't die immediately and called 911 for help, the Post reported. Members of the jury heard the call and reportedly asked for therapy afterward because of its traumatic nature.
Veronica Youngblood made a call of her own.
After shooting the girls, Veronica Youngblood made a sadistic call to Ron Youngblood. She reportedly told him that she hated him and had killed their children. "She saw that she had no more tools to use against me, so she decided to get rid of them," he told the Post.
He claims he never thought she would kill Sharon, his wife's daughter from a previous relationship, and Brooklyn, who they had together, despite their custody dispute. "I wouldn't put it past her that she would try to do something to me, but I never thought she would have done something to the girls," he said.
She pleaded not guilty.
Veronica Youngblood claimed in court that she heard voices and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. But that defense was thrown out, and the trial continued.
Her attorneys claimed their client grew up in poverty in Argentina and had suffered physical and sexual abuse, the Post reported. She also allegedly turned to sex work to care for Sharon when she was younger. None of this proved enough to sway the jury to find her innocent.
Before the sentencing, the mother wanted the court to know she wasn't a bad person.
Veronica Youngblood made one last statement to the judge through a Spanish interpreter. "I've been a good mother, but something happened, I don't know how to explain it. Something exploded in my mind," she said.
Although it may have been her last chance for a reduced sentence, it seemed to have little effect on the court.
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A judge showed no mercy for the accused killer.
Veronica Youngblood was found guilty of two charges of murder and felony firearm use. Her attorney asked that she serve her murder sentences concurrently instead of consecutively, but Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows said no, according to Fox News.
"Mothers and fathers have many responsibilities, but none is more grave than keeping their children safe," he said. "Tragically, their mother became the instrument of their death."
