Julie Schenecker Sentenced for Murdering Her Children: 'I Know They're in Heaven'
Julie Schenecker has been found guilty of murdering her two children in 2011 and was sentenced yesterday to two concurrent sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Schenecker offered no explanation as to why she killed her children but said she knows that they are in heaven.
"I apologize to everyone in this courtroom," Schenecker said after being sentenced. "I know I shot my son and daughter. I don't know why. I have a period of time to try to understand that. I know that my children are in heaven. I want people to try to find comfort in believing, as I do, that they are in no pain and they are alive and enjoying everything and anything that heaven has to offer. Jesus is protecting them and keeping them safe until we get there."
Calyx, 16, and Beau, 13, were found shot to death at their home in Florida. Both had been shot once in the head and once in the mouth. Schenecker shot the children, then placed Calyx in her bed and tried to manipulate her face into a smile before covering her with a blanket. She left Beau in the car but noted in her journal that she wanted to place him in his bed but he was too heavy.
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"I've offed Beau on the way to practice," Schenecker wrote in her journal. "He saw the gun and told me to put it back in my purse. Had a healthy fight, then when we got home, a shot to his mouth. He became so mouthy, just like Calyx. She was not as easy because I rolled the chair by her clean bed," she later wrote. "Beau is so cold and hard. I wish I could put him in my bed. That's where he slept happily. I just can't lift him. I surely wish I could. We're going home today. Take us home Lord."
"Today's verdict give(s) our family a sense of relief," ex-husband Peter Schenecker told the press. "The most important thing in all of this are Calyx and Beau, my lovely children. My smart, beautiful, loved and missed daughter and son. Giving them a voice has been my priority throughout this process. This decision gives our family an opportunity to move forward."
