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Home · News

Mentally Ill Mom Found Guilty Of Murder After Drowning Two Young Daughters In Plastic Tub

Mentally Ill Mom Found Guilty Of Murder After Drowning Two Young Daughters In Plastic Tub
Savannah-Chatham Police Dept.
By Steve Helling · Updated October 26, 2020

This story originally appeared on PEOPLE. 

A 28-year-old mother from Savannah, Georgia, will spend the rest of her life in prison for malice murder after she drowned her two youngest children in a plastic tub two years ago, PEOPLE confirms.

A jury found Jokeera Viola Morgan guilty of murder but mentally ill in the deaths of her daughters, whom she killed on Oct. 6, 2015.

One at a time, according to authorities, she drowned 19-month old Zyra and 8-month old Savannah in a washtub in her home.

Morgan was reportedly sentenced on Friday to two consecutive life sentences, following her conviction. PEOPLE confirms that she will be sent to a state prison where she will receive mental health treatment.

During her trial, prosecutors told jurors that Morgan took one daughter, undressed her and held her in a tub of water until she stopped moving. She then got the second girl and repeated the action. She then called 911.

Both the prosecution and defense stipulated that Morgan killed her children, but they disagreed about whether she understood the morality of her actions at the time.

“The defendant knew when she murdered her babies that it was wrong,” prosecutor Jenny Guyer told jurors during closing arguments.

But Morgan’s attorney, Todd Martin, argued that she had an extensive history of mental illness and had been previously committed to mental hospitals and prescribed medications. Her two older children had already been removed from her custody.

“When she killed her children, she didn’t know right from wrong,” Martin told jurors. “She thought she was doing the right thing.”

Neither Morgan’s attorney nor prosecutors immediately returned PEOPLE’s call for comment on Tuesday. No paperwork has yet been filed to appeal the sentence.

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