MEDFORD, NY – A mother from Medford, Long Island, recently pleaded guilty to two charges of first-degree murder more than four years after she suffocated her 2-year-old twin daughters. Tenia Campbell, now aged 28, is anticipated to face a prison sentence that could range from 20 years to life, as per the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
According to past reports, Campbell was arrested in 2019 by Suffolk County Police after an urgent call was made to 911 by Campbell’s mother, reporting that she was threatening to harm her daughters. The police found Campbell together with her unresponsive twin daughters, Jasmine and Jaida, parked in her minivan. Both toddlers later died in hospital.
Describing the case as tragic and disappointing, District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney commented that Campbell, instead of protecting and loving her children as their mother, ended their lives. He expressed relief that Campbell would now have to face the major part of her life behind bars.
Back in 2019, the twin girls’ grandmother first raised alarm with authorities at around 2:37 p.m. on June 27. She reported that Campbell had threatened to harm the twins and end her own life as well. The mother allegedly claimed to the grandmother that the twins were already dead while sounding hysterical but kept her location concealed.
The minivan, parked at Montauk County Park’s entrance, was discovered by police roughly around 4 p.m. through cell phone tracking. Geraldine Hart, the then-Suffolk County Police Commissioner, noted how Campbell asked the officers to shoot her when they found her.
Campbell, according to a police witness statement from the twin’s grandmother, allegedly confessed to having killed the children by choking and was planning to drown herself in the ocean to join her babies in heaven. The grandmother also revealed that Campbell had long been struggling with mental health issues, such as bipolar, depression, and anxiety. She revealed that Campbell had also been exhibiting irrational and angry behavior.
The 4-year-old son of Campbell was in his father’s custody at the time of the incident. On Wednesday, the mother pleaded guilty before Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro. John Halverson, who is representing Campbell, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.