According to the court documents, the 35-year-old mother, Leanah, was sentenced to life in prison after she pleaded guilty to deliberate homicide in the double-slaying that took place inside their home. Prosecutors said the woman reportedly cut the necks of her 3-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son, then told authorities that she killed ‘because the mother felt like she had to protect them forever, because she felt like they were not safe.’
During the sentencing, the 35-year-old mother reportedly said: “I did not hurt my kids for any other reason other than I did not want them to get hurt by anyone else. I felt like I had to protect them forever, because I felt like we were not safe. I was supposed to die with them. I loved them more every day, my life revolved around them. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I always knew how to ask for help besides this time.”
In November 2021, Leanah’s mother called the authorities and told the dispatcher that her 35-year-old daughter reportedly told her that she saved her 3-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son before she started crying. The 35-year-old mom also called the authorities and told them that she used knife to stab her kids. The responding officers reportedly found both children in a bedroom, suffering from severe injuries. Both children were pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers also found note in the bedroom, which stated: “It was the only way we all wouldn’t burn, now I’m the only one of us that will.” Before the fatal incident, the mother went to an emergency room while experiencing a mental health episode and said she was hurting her children. The woman then told authorities this was a false report borne from her mental health challenges. The mother then received weekly therapy, regularly met with her doctor, and spent three weeks at the local treatment center.
