11 Women Who Snapped and Murdered Their Children for Horrifying Reasons

Christy Sheats

The 42-year-old mom told her daughters Taylor, 22, and Madison, 17, that they were having a "family meeting." She then pulled out a gun and opened fire, killing Madison instantly and chasing Taylor into the street where she delivered one last fatal shot. When police arrived at the scene, they shot Christy dead in the street.

According to police, her motive was to make her husband "suffer" after he had plans to divorce her. She also suffered from severe depression following the deaths of her grandfather and her mother. "If you have loved ones, tell them you love them every day," said Christy's surviving husband, Jason Sheats. "Give them a hug because you never know, it might be your last day."

Julie Schenecker

She made headlines in 2011 when she gunned down her two teenage kids for being "mouthy." In court, she admitted to shooting her 13-year-old son in the car while driving him home from soccer practice. She later went home and shot her 16-year-old daughter. Although most of her trial was spent deliberating over whether she was sane or not at the time of her crime, when uncovered journals revealed her premeditated plans to "massacre" her kids, the jury found her guilty and sentenced her to two life terms in prison.

In a 2015 ABC interview, she admitted she had no regrets to killing her children, saying that she "saved them" from abuse. "I was raped as a virgin and my whole life has been a mess," she said. "I came from a great family. They protected me. And this still happened. I couldn't let it happen to [my daughter.]"

Andrea Yates

In 2001, she became one of the biggest crime stories of the year after she admitted to drowning her children one-by-one in a bathtub because she heard "voices." Andrea suffered from severe postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis that led to her diminished mental state, and she was later found not guilty by reason of insanity. Today, she's 53 and is in a low-security state mental hospital.

Mitchelle Blair

Dubbed "freezer mom," she was arrested in 2015 when the dead bodies of two of her children were found in her freezer. Mitchelle admitted to killing her 13-year-old daughter Stoni because she believed the teen was sexually abusing another sibling. In a rage, she smothered the girl with a plastic bag. A year later she killed her 9-year-old son Stephen the same way, telling police that one of her younger sons had accused Stephen of molestation. But probably the darkest thing about the whole story was that Mitchelle would force her oldest 17-year-old daughter to help stuff the bodies in the freezer.

However, prosecutors didn't fully believe her "molestation" claims In fact, according to her oldest daughter, Mitchelle had tortured her son Stephen for weeks prior to killing him. She also, according to the teen, killed her daughter Stoni simply because the girl said she didn't like her surviving siblings. Unsurprisingly, but Mitchelle was found guilty in 2015 and was sentenced to life. To this day, Mitchelle is still unremorseful for her crimes.

Isabel Martinez

In 2017, Isabel was charged with stabbing and killing four of her children and her husband as they slept. Her nine-year-old daughter was the lone survivor of the massacre and later told authorities that her mother told her she was "going to see Jesus" prior to the stabbing. However, probably the most chilling thing about the story was that, when Isabel arrived at court, she smiled and gave an enthusiastic thumbs up to the cameras. She's still currently awaiting trial, and police are still unsure of her motives.

Jessica Edens

In 2017, the 36-year-old mom shot and killed Meredith Rahme, a woman she believed her husband was having an affair with, before turning the gun on her two children and then herself. An uncovered suicide note explained her motives, which was to "create everlasting consequences" and pain for her husband, Ben Edens. "To Ben, You have caused me more pain that (sic) I’ve ever been in my life," she wrote. "You have caused my children pain. I hate you. I hope you rot one day for what you have done to me and my kid. You can no longer hurt us. We are at peace."

Gigi Jordan

In 2010, the multimillionaire socialite gave her eight-year-old autistic son a lethal cocktail of drugs to kill him. She called it a "mercy killing" and said she was saving her son from being sexually abused by his father. “I didn’t see any way out of this situation,” she testified in court. “I made a decision that I was going to end my life and Jude’s life.”

However, throughout the trial, prosecutors questioned her allegations of abuse — especially considering she was wealthy. “All of her money, all of her resources. She decided to kill him,” Court Justice Charles Solomon said. “There are so many different things she could have done." She was later found guilty and sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Lianne Smith

In 2010, the British mom killed both her children, one who was 11 months old and another who was five, by smothering them in their sleep. She explained to police that she murdered her kids because she was afraid they'd be taken away by social services after her partner, Martin Smith, was arrested on child sex charges. She took her kids to an exotic Spanish resort for two days before carrying out the killings. "I have ended the lives of my two children," she told police. "I gave the children a three-day holiday, a perfect holiday. I knew they were going to take my children to England." She was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2012.

Deanna Laney

In 2003, the mom-of-two woke up in the middle of the night, took her eight-year-old son into the backyard, and stoned him to death. She later did the same thing to her six-year-old son. During the investigation, she told police that God ordered her to kill them. "I believed with all my heart it was the Lord telling me that, but I couldn't figure out why," she told the court. "I don't understand. Why? What purpose?" She was later found not guilty by reason of insanity. However, in 2012 she was released and, although she's subjected to a long list of conditions, she's a free woman.

Michelle Martens

Although she didn't physically kill her 10-year-old daughter Victoria, whose body was found dismembered and partially burned in a bathtub of a hotel last year, she admitted to allowing her boyfriend and his cousin rape, torture, and stab her daughter to death because she allegedly liked to watch. The circumstances surrounding the case have shocked many. “What happened to this little girl is … horrific," police spokesman Tanner Tixier said last year. "It’s one of the worst things I’ve read in my entire life." She's set to start trial later this year.

Hu Chen

In 2014, a Chinese mother was accused of throwing her 14-month-old infant daughter into traffic during an argument with her husband. The girl was killed instantly by a truck driver who couldn't stop in time. Crazily enough, she then repeated her actions, reaching for her six-year-old son and throwing him into traffic as well. Fortunately, the boy survived. Hu was arrested and charged with murder, but the conclusion of the case is unknown.