Mom found guilty of killing her two young daughters to get revenge on ex-husband
A mother in Virginia was found guilty of murdering her two daughters for revenge against her ex-husband.
Veronica Youngblood, a 37-year-old mother originally from Argentina, was convicted of murder after the deaths of her two children, Sharon Castro, 15, and Brooklynn Youngblood, 5, in July of 2018.
According to prosecutors, Youngblood fed her daughters sleeping pill gummies before shooting them in their beds in her apartment in McLean, Virginia with a gun she purchased just nine days earlier.
‘She told detectives that she planned to kill them and herself following a protracted custody dispute, which had Brooklynn set to move to Missouri with Veronica’s ex-husband, Ron, that weekend,’ Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said.
Brooklynn was killed after a single gunshot to the head. Sharon, however, survived after sustaining gunshot wounds to her back and chest.
Sharon survived long enough to call 911. First responders were able to take her to a local hospital, where she later died from her injuries.
Prosecutors said that while Sharon was calling for help, Youngblood called her ex-husband and confessed to the crime.
Youngblood was arrested in nearby Loudoun County, Virginia, after knocking on the door of an acquaintance. She was carrying a firearm later determined to be the murder weapon.
A dramatic scene unfolded in court when Youngblood testified on her own behalf at a penalty phase hearing on March 23. ‘Why did you leave me?’ she yelled at her ex-husband, who sat in the back of a Fairfax County Courtroom. ‘Why did you leave me alone with the girls? None of this would have happened!’
According to prosecutors, Ron Youngblood was a navy pilot and met his ex-wife while he was stationed in Buenos Aires in 2007.
The couple relocated to McLean in 2015, but he was quickly redeployed overseas. The two then divorced in 2016, and filed for custody of his daughter Brooklynn.
After the jury recommended prison, Youngblood leaped from her seat and began screaming ‘no, no, no!’ A Fairfax County Sheriff’s Deputy had to restrain the defendant and forcibly remove her from the courtroom.
‘Sharon and Brooklynn are two children that should be alive today,’ Commonwealth’s Attorney Descano said. ‘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.’
The jury in Fairfax County Court said that Youngblood will face up to 78 years in prison for the murders. A judge will determine her final sentence at a hearing on September 22.
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