Texas woman avoids death penalty for shooting and killing daughters, 5 and 7, after entering plea deal
31-year-old Sarah Henderson, who was accused of shooting and killing her daughters, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole after she pleaded guilty to capital murder in court on Wednesday.
The Mabank woman pleaded guilty to killing her daughters—Kaylee, 5, and Kenlie, 7—in November 2017.
During her plea hearing, when asked why she killed her daughters, Sarah replied, “I was going crazy”. She then added, “Just caught up in everyday life, you know”.
Her trial was scheduled to begin on July 30 and expected to last for up to three weeks, CBS DFW reported.
Sarah was also charged with the attempted murder of her husband.
According to the Henderson County District Attorney’s Office, Sarah tried to shoot her husband Jacob while he was sleeping but the .380 caliber pistol failed to fire and her husband managed to take the gun away from her and called 911.
As her husband spoke with 911 officials, Sarah could be heard in the background, asking, "What did I do, Lord? What did I do? What did I do? What did I do, God?"
The state of Texas had filed a waiver of the death penalty in the case subject to a plea bargain.
And, according to the plea bargain, she needed to plead guilty to the murder of persons under the age of 10 as she said that she did not want a jury trial. Her former husband Jacob Henderson agreed to the plea. Sarah is in the custody of the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office.
According to reports, Sarah had been planning the murders for around two weeks before the gruesome attack took place. She was planning to kill her entire family.
And as per Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse, Sarah showed no remorse or "much emotion" in 2017 when she confessed to the murders.
A few months after her arrest, Sarah was examined by psychologists who determined she was mentally competent to proceed to trial.
Sarah had been held on a $2.1 million bond ever since she was arrested.