Five family members were brutally killed by a mother and daughter who claimed that demons ordered them to do the crime. They followed the demonic voices in their heads, and they carried out the murder which took the lives of five people, including three children.
According to the Sun, 47-year-old Shana Decree and 21-year-old Dominique Decree from Morrisville Pennsylvania claimed that demons spoke in their heads and said that the victims wanted to die.
Murder spree lasted for 3 days
Investigation showed that they killed two close relatives including three children. They pled guilty to the murder charges of five counts of first-degree murder. The defense is trying to claim that the suspects were mentally ill to lessen the sentence.
In an interview, suspects said to the police that the 'demons' were insistent, compelling the mother and daughter to kill their family members. Demons allegedly spoke to them till they could not refuse any longer, turning the flat into a slaughterhouse.
The suspects attended their hearing in Bucks County Court on Monday, September 28. Deputy District Attorney Christopher Rees alleged that the murders took place in three days, according to Meaww.
A story by WPVI reported that a witness from children and youth services caseworker discovered the corpses of the children and other relatives in the flat in 2019. By that time, all of the victims were already lifeless.
The victims were identified as Naa'Irah Smith, 25, Damon Decree Jr, 13, Shana's sister, Jamilla Campbell, 42, and 9-year-old twin daughters Erika and Imani Allen. In an autopsy, the coroner's office said Campbell was asphyxiated, while the others were suffocated until they died gasping for breath.
The witness saw this disturbing scene at the Decree residence in February 2019. The police entered the flat and found the suspects, Shana and Dominique, who werenot in a normal state of Mind.
The cops observed that everything is in disarray all over the house, with a damaged wall and glass all over the floors. The corpses of the slain family members were all over the place.
When interrogated by the police, they had a different account of the murder. Both insisted that demons spoke to them, and their victims desired to die in the house. When examined by psychologists and psychiatrists, both suspects were found suffering from mental illness during the hearing.
Suspects diagnosed with several mental illnesses
The two had a personality disorder, depressive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder which caused them to murder everyone in the flat. Either one was not functioning normally and thus were spaced out during the massacre.
Dominique's attorney, John Fioravanti Jr., informed the court that Dominique Decree has been under mental treatment since she was 5 years old. Her mother also undergone treatment. The mother and daughter due were were allegedly engaged in cultist behavior with a cult that was not identified, according to family members.
Shana's attorney, Christa Dunleavy, stated that her client was deluded when she killed the victims like cattle, three of which who were young children.
Furthermore, according to the suspects, they felt remorse for the five killings. The Philadelphia Inquirer mentions that President Judge Wallace Bateman said the suspects felt sorry, however, no amount of apology can bring back the five relatives they killed.
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