A mother and daughter in Pennsylvania are in custody after they allegedly killed every family member in their Bucks County home, including two children: 9-year-old twins.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Shana S. Decree, 45, and her 19-year-old daughter Dominique Decree were charged with multiple murder counts after authorities discovered five bodies in the home — along with the “disoriented” suspects — on Monday.
The murder scene was discovered after social services performed a follow-up visit to the apartment in Morrisville on Monday after attempting to do a wellness check on Saturday. During the wellness check attempt over the weekend, a social services worker reportedly left a business card in the door, and it was still there when workers arrived on Monday. A case worker reportedly asked a maintenance worker to check on the apartment.
Inside, five of the seven people in the disheveled home were found dead; on the floor, on a bed, and hidden under a bed, according to the report. The cause of the death for any of the victims is not yet known: Authorities reportedly said none of the victims died from being shot or stabbed, and poisoning has also been ruled out.
Police reportedly told the Philadelphia Inquirer the Dominique Decree had “superficial” injuries to her neck.
The victims include Naa’Irah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr., 13, who are both Shana Decree’s children; Shana’s sister Jamilla Campbell, 42, and her daughters, Imani and Erika Allen, both 9.
According to the news outlet, Shana Decree told police that Jamilla Campbell had killed Naa’Irah Smith, and that Dominque then killed Campbell. Dominique reportedly admitted to choking Campbell to death, but claimed her mother killed Naa’Irah Smith. The younger woman claimed Campbell had choked one of the children and that Shana Decree killed two of the other children.
Shana reportedly told police that “everyone at the apartment including the nine-year-olds and 13-year-old wanted to die,” and they were all “talking about suicide.” Both suspects reportedly said the killings were intended to be a murder-suicide and that everyone in the apartment was expected to die.
It is not clear at this time which family members lived at the home at the time of the murders.
According to ABC 6 Action News, Shana Decree has been charged with five counts of murder and 1 count of conspiracy. Her daughter is expected to be arraigned on the same charges Monday afternoon.
This is a developing story. CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information is available.
