Mother, daughter accused of murder after being found in Pennsylvania apartment with 5 dead relatives
MORRISVILLE, Pa. -- Authorities say a mother and daughter confessed to their involvement in the murders of five family members, including three children, inside their Pennsylvania home after initially told police 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 soon.
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.
ABC sister station WPVI was told Children and Youth Social Services Agency performed a welfare check at the Robert Morris Apartments 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. When nobody answered, the representative had a maintenance worker open the apartment.
Inside they 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. Local police were called to the scene and both women 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.
"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.
