A Fairfax County jury recommended a 78-year prison term for Veronica Youngblood, a 37-year-old McLean woman convicted of killing her two daughters.
Youngblood fed Brooklynn Youngblood, 5, and Sharon Castro, 15, sleeping pill gummies before shooting the girls in their beds while in their McLean apartment on August 5, 2018, according to a news release from Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano.
Youngblood had been in a protracted custody battle over an upcoming move that would have the younger daughter moving to Missouri with Youngblood’s ex-husband, Descano said.
The jury found Youngblood guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a murder.
While the jury recommended the sentence, it will be up to a judge to determine how long Veronica Youngblood should serve. That decision will be made after the judge hears additional testimony from families of the victims and from Youngblood herself on September 22.
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