Mother Pleads Guilty to Murdering Twin Daughters: Expected Sentence 20 Years to Life

MEDFORD, N.Y. (AP) — A mother from Long Island, New York, has entered a guilty plea to two counts of first-degree murder more than four years after she suffocated her 2-year-old twin daughters.

Tenia Campbell, 28, of Medford, made the plea on Wednesday and is expected to receive a 20-year to life prison sentence, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

In 2019, Campbell was arrested after her mother called 911 to report that she was threatening to kill her daughters. The toddlers, Jasmine and Jaida, were found unresponsive in cardiac arrest and were pronounced dead shortly after at a nearby hospital.

“This is such a sad and tragic case. Those two little girls looked to this defendant, their mother, for protection and love. Instead, she executed them,” District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said in a release.

According to the DA’s office, Campbell’s mother first called police at 2:37 p.m. on June 27, 2019 to report that Campbell was threatening to kill Jasmine and Jaida. Campbell was found parked in her minivan at the entrance of Montauk County Park. Police reportedly used cell-phone tracking to locate the vehicle.

Campbell’s sentencing conference will take place on Jan. 25.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or visit 988lifeline.org.