A judge in Fairfax County, Virginia, stuck to the jury’s recommendationwhen sentencing a local mother to 78 years in prison in murdering her two daughters to spite her Navy pilot ex-husband.
Authorities have said that Veronica Youngblood, 38, fatally shot Brooklynn Youngblood, 5, and Sharon Castro, 15. Brooklynn died at the scene of a gunshot to the head. Sharon, suffering gunshot wounds to her chest and back, managed to call 911. She passed away at the hospital.
Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows said that he saw no reason to sentence defendant Youngblood below the jury’s recommendation, but the law did not allow him to increase it, according to The Associated Press.