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Veronica Youngblood: Mother Found Guilty Of Murdering Two Daughters
The 37-year-old Virginia mother Veronica Youngblood was found guilty of murdering her two young daughters in what the prosecution alleged was a diabolical plot to wreak revenge on her ex-husband who wanted to leave the country with one of the girls.
The defense argued that Youngblood’s actions were motivated by a desire to protect her children from her abusive ex-husband.
Veronica Youngblood: Lunatic Mother Or Ruthless Criminal?
Veronica Youngblood had claimed that she was responsible for the deaths of her children, Sharon Castro, who was 15, and Brooklynn Youngblood, who was 5 years old; however, she pled not guilty by reason of insanity to the murders that occurred on August 5, 2018.
Over the course of the trial, the attorney for the defense alleged that Veronica Youngblood was hearing voices that were instructing her to kill both of her kids.
The jurors, on the other hand, did not think that mental illness played a substantial role in any of the murders. They came to the conclusion that Veronica Youngblood was responsible for two first-degree murders as well as two counts of illegal use of a firearm.
As Youngblood detailed being abused by her parents when she was a child, many members of the jury were emotional. According to what she told the jury, her grandfather sexually abused her as a youngster while her father physically tortured her by hitting her with a belt, broomstick, and branch when she was a toddler.
Over the course of the trial, the Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for Fairfax County, Kelsey Gill, characterized Youngblood as a cold-blooded, self-centered, and purposeful killer.
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Who Is Veronica Youngblood?
Veronica Youngblood was a former prostitute who, according to her defense attorneys, had been the victim of both physical and sexual abuse at the hands of members of her own family. During the course of the trial, the Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for Fairfax County, Kelsey Gill, portrayed Youngblood as a malicious, self-absorbed, and purposeful killer.
The defense attorney for Veronica Youngblood, Fairfax County Public Defender Dawn Butorac, stated that the defendant, who was born in Argentina, was raised in a poor household, and that she eventually turned to prostitution after giving birth to her eldest daughter at the tender age of 16.
Butorac stated that she was also hearing voices and began practicing a religion that originated in South America. Followers of this religion believe that they are able to communicate with the departed.
Why She Murdered The Innocent Girls?
Following Veronica’s parents abandoning her and her sister in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she turned to sex work. It was in this line of work that she met her ex-husband Ron Youngblood, and the two of them later migrated to the United States together. As a Navy pilot, he was stationed in other countries.
She called her ex-husband, Ron Youngblood, as her teenage daughter lay in the hospital bed, and she told him that she despised him and that she had killed their children.
He had intended to take the couple’s youngest child and relocate to the state of Missouri.
According to the prosecution, the killing of the children was her form of revenge. “Why did you leave me?” she asked him in the courtroom. “Why did you just walk away and leave me to deal with the girls by myself? Such a thing never would have happened.
During the course of the trial, which lasted for two weeks, the prosecutor contended that she was not a victim but rather a murderer.
Towards the conclusion of the oral arguments, Gill stated that “this case goes much beyond simply having a mental disorder.” “This is not even close to being depressed. This is not even close to being PTSD. This is not even close to being suicidal at all.
Gill testified in front of the jury that Veronica Youngblood had purchased a firearm nine days before the murders.
And she had given sleeping gummies to her children so that they wouldn’t be able to stop her from going on the rampage in their apartment in McLean, Virginia. A bullet to the skull caused Little Brooklyn’s death at the scene of the crime.
Sharon was wounded twice—once in the back, and once in the chest—but she managed to survive long enough to call 911 and tell the dispatcher that her mother was the one who fired the gun. She passed away at the medical facility.
The aftermath Of The Murder
Youngblood gave an audio recording to detectives in which she admitted to having slain her children and then stated that she deserved to die for her crimes.
The prosecution criticized the insanity defense presented by the defense and claimed that Veronica Youngblood was operating in a dishonest manner.
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“This individual wants to manipulate, this person wants to deceive, and this person wants to cause mayhem,” the prosecutor, Claiborne Richardson, stated. “All for this person’s own personal gain.” “Ms. Veronica Youngblood is vindictive, self-absorbed, and cold-blooded in her actions.”
The duration of the trial was fourteen days. It took the jury a full day of deliberation before they found her guilty.
