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Thread: Shana and Dominique Decree Sentenced in 2019 PA Multiple Murders

  1. #1
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    Shana and Dominique Decree Sentenced in 2019 PA Multiple Murders





    Mother, daughter charged after 5 family members found murdered

    By Dann Cuellar and Katherine Scott
    6abc Action News

    MORRISVILLE, Pa. -- Authorities say a mother and daughter have confessed to their involvement in the murders of five family members, including three children, inside their Bucks County home after they alleged everyone involved had been talking about suicide.

    Shana Decree, 45, was arraigned on five counts of murder and conspiracy charges around 4 a.m. Tuesday and is being held without bail. Her 19-year-old daughter Dominique is expected to be arraigned on the same charges later in the day.

    The five family members killed have been identified as: Shana Decree's children, Naa'Irah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr., 13, both of Morrisville, Shana's sister, Jamilla Campbell, 42, of Trenton, New Jersey, and Campbell's 9-year-old twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen.

    Action News is told Bucks County Children and Youth Social Services Agency performed a welfare check at the Robert Morris Apartments on the 200 block of West Bridge Street in Morrisville on Saturday, but when no one answered, a worker left a card.

    According to an affidavit of probable cause, representatives returned to the apartment for an unannounced visit around 4 p.m. Monday. After there was no answer, the representative contacted a maintenance worker at the complex.

    When the maintenance worker gained access to the apartment, he found two women, identified as Shana and Dominique Decree, in bed. The worker reported that the two seemed disoriented and the apartment was in disarray. Morrisville police were called to the scene and both were taken to the hospital.

    Arriving officers saw furniture upended in the apartment, along with broken glass and clutter. The Children and Youth representative told police the apartment was not in disarray during their last visit in early February.

    Police initially saw four bodies in a small bedroom. The fifth was later discovered underneath another body.

    "This is a terrible tragedy. I just spoke with the family of the five of the deceased and we're all heartbroken," Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said during a Monday night press conference.

    The affidavit says Shana and Dominique Decree were read their Miranda rights in the emergency room of the hospital and both spoke to police without an attorney present. Both were in separate exam rooms when they were being questioned.

    Dominique told police she lived in the home with her mother Shana, her sister Naa'Irah, her 13-year-old brother Damon, her aunt Jamilla Campbell, and Campbell's twin daughters.

    Authorities say Dominique had visible injuries to her neck and, at first, denied knowing what happened. She claimed that an unknown male hurt her and she kept repeating she wanted to die.

    Shana also first denied knowing what happened, according to police, claiming her sister's boyfriend and two unknown males came into the apartment and killed everyone except her and her daughter.

    Dominique separately then echoed claims about her aunt's boyfriend and two unknown males.

    The affidavit indicates that later, Shana told police everyone in the apartment, including the 9-year-old twins and 13-year-old, wanted to die and were talking about suicide.

    According to the affidavit, Dominique then told police how each person was killed. Dominique said Shana killed one twin, the 13-year-old, and Smith; that Campbell killed the other twin; and she then strangled Campbell.

    Police say Shana also gave them an account of who did the killings. Her account varied slightly from her daughter's, saying Dominique helped her with one of the killings and that Campbell killed Smith.

    Authorities had been searching for Jamilla Campbell's 17-year-old son, Joshua Campbell, to ensure his safety. They located him Tuesday morning in Willingboro. He is not considered a suspect.

    https://abc7chicago.com/mother-daugh...tives/5157431/
    Last edited by Steven; 05-08-2022 at 12:41 PM.

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    Women accused of killing 5 family members in Morrisville due in court today

    Two women charged with killing five of their family members in Morrisville are expected to make their first appearance in county court Tuesday morning, according to court records.

    Shana Decree, 46, and her daughter Dominique Decree, 20, are scheduled to be formally arraigned on their charges 11 a.m. in front of Judge Wallace Bateman Jr.

    The Decrees are charged with five counts of homicide and one count of conspiracy to commit murder.

    Formal arraignments are typically scheduled not long after a defendant has a preliminary hearing in district court.

    The Decrees, accused of killing five people in their apartment nearly a year ago, waived their preliminary hearings in April.

    Their formal arraignments have been delayed numerous times, according to court records. Those records state multiple motions have been filed by Dominique Decree’s attorneys in the past few months, however, those motions are sealed.

    Prosecutors can file a notice to seek the death penalty for the two during their hearing Tuesday, if that is what the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office wishes to do.

    Authorities found the bodies of five of the defendants’ family members at Robert Morris Apartments on Feb. 25, 2019.

    Killed were Shana Decree’s children Naa’Irah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr., 13; Shana Decree’s sister Jamilia Campbell, 42, of Trenton, and Campbell’s twin daughters Imani and Erika Allen, who were 9, according to police.

    Shana and Dominique were found in the home dazed and disoriented, officials have said.

    The two allegedly told authorities conflicting stories of what happened.

    Shana Decree told them that all the people in the apartment, including the children, wanted to die and talked about suicide, court documents state.

    Shana Decree admitted to killing Imani, but said Campbell killed Erika and Smith, according to authorities. Shana Decree said she and Dominique Decree killed Damon, police said.

    Shana Decree said Dominique Decree killed Campbell too, according to court documents.

    However, Dominique Decree said her mother killed Imani, Damon and Smith, and that Campbell killed Erika by choking her, officials said. Dominique Decree then admitted to choking Campbell, according to police.

    The two remain jailed without bail.

    https://www.buckscountycouriertimes....in-court-today
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    Pennsylvania mom, daughter plead not guilty in killings of 5 relatives

    By Morgan Phillips
    Fox News

    A mother and her adult daughter pleaded not guilty Tuesday to killing five of their relatives in an apparent botched murder-suicide pact, meanwhile the judge gave prosecutors more time to decide whether to seek the death penalty against them.

    Shana Decree, 46, and Dominique, 20, are accused of killing Shana’s son, 13-year-old Damon; Shana’s 42-year-old sister, Jamillah Campbell; her daughter, Naa’Irah Smith, 25; and Campbell’s twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen, 9 years old.

    Judge Wallace Bateman said prosecutors can have until March 20 to file motions explaining why the Decrees should be put to death if convicted.

    In February 2019, authorities found the five bodies in a trashed apartment in Morrisville, Penn., and soon after charged the mother-daughter duo in their deaths. Four of the victims had been suffocated and had been strangled.

    Police said they found all five victims in one bedroom of the apartment, and they found Shana and Dominique “disoriented” inside the apartment, lying on a bed. Signs of struggle were abundant -- furniture had been turned over, drywall was cracked and broken glass lay around.

    Authorities discovered the scene after a child welfare officer came to the home for an unannounced visit and was let into the building by someone who works there, according to court papers.

    Both Shana and Dominique told detectives everyone in the apartment had “wanted to die” and openly talked about suicide, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. They confessed to taking part in what appeared to be a murder-suicide pact but had differing accounts on who killed whom.

    The pair sat in silence throughout the proceedings, answering the judge’s questions in hushed tones. At one point, the younger Decree sobbed.

    Families members and friends said the suspects and victims had started living together in the apartment only a few weeks before, at which point they cut off contact with the outside world, spending most of their time together in the small basement apartment.

    Family members said the few texts and calls they exchanged were shown in court and included references to Biblical apocalypses. They spoke about “pearly gates” and seeing angels and demons everywhere.

    Family and friends said the drastic shift in behavior had confused them. Deputy District Attorney Christopher Rees did not conjecture on a motive for the killings, saying more will be revealed in the trial, tentatively slated for June.

    “A case with this magnitude of tragedy, this magnitude of criminality, requires a superlative level of effort,” Rees, the lead prosecutor on the case, said after the arraignment of Shana and Dominique Decree. “To put it bluntly, we don’t want to get anything wrong, because these victims deserve our best and we’re willing to take as much time as we need to get it right.”

    https://www.foxnews.com/us/pennsylva...s-of-relatives

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    Deadline extended for death penalty decision in Morrisville slayings

    The deadline for prosecutors to decide to pursue the death penalty for Shana and Dominique Decree has been extended until April 20.

    Bucks County Courier Times

    Prosecutors now have an additional month to decide if they will pursue the death penalty for two people accused of killing five of their family members in Morrisville last year.

    During the arraignments for Shana Decree, 47, and her daughter Dominique Decree, 20, last month, presiding Common Pleas Judge Wallace Bateman Jr. allowed the prosecution to have until Friday, to decide to pursue the death penalty.

    James O’Malley, spokesman for the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, said Friday that the deadline for that decision has been extended until April 20.

    It is not clear what led to the extension. Details on the extension were not available Friday, however, courts and county government have been impact by the coronavirus outbreak.

    Following their arraignments last month, Deputy District Attorney Christopher Rees told reporters that authorities want to take the time to make sure it is the appropriate decision to pursue the death penalty.

    The order to extend the deadline was filed Monday, according to court records, one day prior to Bateman declaring a judicial emergency in Bucks County due to the outbreak.

    Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, does not have a vaccine and there are no medical treatments, which means it can spread quickly.

    Bateman, who serves as the county’s president judge, had authority to limit the courts during the outbreak in the state. His order left the common pleas court open in a limited capacity.

    The state Supreme Court later ordered all courts statewide be closed starting Friday until April 3.

    The Decrees are charged with five counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the death of five family members on Feb. 25, 2019.

    Killed were Shana Decree’s children Naa’Irah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr., 13; Shana Decree’s sister Jamilia Campbell, 42, of Trenton; and Campbell’s twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen, who were 9, according to police.

    The two remain jailed without bail. Their trial is tentatively scheduled for June.

    https://www.buckscountycouriertimes....ville-slayings

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    Bucks mother and daughter get life in prison after admitting murder of five relatives, including 9-year-old twin girls

    More than 18 months after they were found lying in a cramped apartment amid the bodies of their relatives, a Bucks County mother and daughter on Monday pleaded guilty but mentally ill to first-degree murder in a deal that will imprison them for life but spare them the possibility of the death penalty.

    Capping a bizarre murder saga, Shana and Dominique Decree entered their pleas in the Doylestown courtroom of President Judge Wallace H. Bateman, who told the two the harm they caused was "unimaginable.”

    “This is horrible and tragic, because I do believe the two of you have expressed remorse,” Bateman told the Decrees, as he sentenced each to five terms of life in prison. “Unfortunately, that doesn’t bring them back. You can’t say ‘sorry,' and expect people to move on with their lives.”

    Addressing both Bateman and their relatives in the courtroom, both women offered tearful apologies.

    “The hardest thing for me to do is decide who to say I’m sorry to first,” Shana Decree said. “To my family, I am sorry for taking away these beautiful souls in such a horrible manner."

    Dominique Decree, through heavy sobs, said her actions will haunt her for the rest of her life.

    “I’m so sorry for everything that happened, and I truly don’t understand why it happened,” she said.

    A case worker from Bucks County Children and Youth Services paid a visit to the Decree family’s apartment in Morrisville on February 25, 2019. Inside the basement dwelling, the worker found the bodies of Shana Decree’s children Naa’Irah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr., 13, both of Morrisville; as well as Shana Decree’s sister, Jamilla Campbell, 42, of Trenton; and Campbell’s twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen, both 9.

    Shana Decree, 47, and Dominique Decree, 21, were lying unresponsive in a bedroom, and were taken to a nearby hospital. During later interviews with police, the two gave conflicting stories of what had transpired in the apartment, which had been thrown into disarray, apparently after a prolonged struggle.

    The basic details, however, remained the same: Everyone in the apartment, including Campbell’s young daughters, “wanted to die” and had been “talking about suicide,” the two told police. Autopsies conducted on the victims revealed that all but Campbell had been asphyxiated. The eldest victim had died from strangulation, according to the county coroner.

    During Monday’s hearing, Deputy District Attorney Christopher Rees said that the killings took place over the course of three days. After the two suspects were arrested, court-appointed psychologists and psychiatrists concluded both suffer from severe mental illness, including schizoid personality disorder, major depressive disorder and PTSD.

    Both had sought mental health treatment throughout their lives, with varying success — Dominique started as young as 5, according to her attorney, John J. Fioravanti, Jr.

    At the time of the killings, Shana Decree had grown more isolated and suffering from delusions, said her lawyer, Christa Dunleavy. She “believed the world was ending and there were demons in her house, and she had to obey them."

    “Her family tried to help her,” Dunleavy said, “But the delusions were too strong.”

    Since the killings both suspects expressed horror and remorse at what they had done, their attorneys said. Rees and prosecutors agreed, leading to the negotiated plea deal.

    Friends and relatives of victims discussed seeing a recent change in Shana. She and her sister had talked about seeing demons, of fearing the end of the world, both declarations steeped in ambiguous religious imagery.

    Ronald Smith, the father of Naa’Irah Smith, told The Inquirer that weeks before the murders, he had driven several hours from his home in Maryland to check on his daughter. He made the trip after a worried call from her boyfriend, who had been having issues contacting her.

    When Smith finally saw his daughter, she seemed a changed person: Withdrawn, sickly, and not herself.

    “It was like a switch was flipped,” Smith said last year. “I talked to Naa’Irah all throughout the month of January, and then nothing.”

    https://www.inquirer.com/news/shana-...-20200928.html
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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