A Long Island mother was sentenced to two decades in prison for the June 2019 deaths of her 2-year-old twin daughters, who were found suffocated in their car seats near a county park.
Tenia Campbell, 28, pleaded guilty in December to first-degree murder charges in connection to the deaths of her young daughters, Jaida and Jasmine. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney announced Monday that Campbell was sentenced to 20 years to life behind bars.
"These two young lives were cut short by the one person who was supposed to love and protect them,” said DA Tierney. "Although the 20-year sentence here resolves this sad case, it will not bring back these girls."
Police were alerted to the tragic story when the Medford woman's mother called police just after 2:30 p.m. on June 27, 2019, saying that her daughter was driving around in the family's van and had threatened to kill herself and her toddlers. The 911 call, which lasted nearly 12 minutes, led investigators on a desperate search for them in the areas of Medford and Montauk.
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Less than 90 minutes later, an East Hampton police officer spotted the minivan just off Montauk Highway, west of Montauk Point, pulled over on the side of a park entrance road under a sprawling tree. Campbell was outside the van as the officer neared the vehicle, and the twin toddlers were found dead in their car seats.
Asphyxiation was listed as the girls' cause of death. Campbell later admitted to smothering them.
