An Ohio mother who pleaded guilty to suffocating her three sons to death because she was jealous of the attention they were getting from her husband, was giving two consecutive life sentences, plus an additional seven years in exchange for a life sentence.
Brittany Pilkington, a mother who is 27 years old, was scheduled to stand trial in early 2020, pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and one count of involuntary manslaughter for causing the deaths of her three sons in a separate incident between July 2014 and August 2015, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Logan County Prosecutor Eric Stewart.
Niall, Gavin and Noah, Brittany’s sons died by suffocation in July 2014, April 2015 and August 2015, respectively, according statements made by the prosecutors. “A guilty plea cannot undo the heartless acts this woman committed against defenseless children,” Yost said. “She does not deserve to be called mom. But locking her up will at least guarantee she won’t be able to repeat this evil. “Stewart said the indictment initially called for the death penalty but a state expert advised the penalty “was not appropriate in this case due to the mental defects of the defendant.”
“Everyone involved in the case, including investigators, family members of the victims, and this office believes that the two consecutive life sentences is a proper resolution which will bring justice and closure to this tragic case and protect the community from the defendant,” Steward said in the statement.
Her defense attorney Kort Gatterdam said the accused suffered brain damage from lead ingestion as an infant. A medical scan confirmed the damage, which led to developmental delays and both emotional and anxiety issues.
Furthermore, she suffered sexual abuse by her husband Joseph who is also the father of her four children, Gatterdam said. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to a sexual abuse claim made by his at that time relationship with Brittany prior to their marriage.
When Pilkington’s 3-month-old baby Noah, stopped breathing in August 2015, less than a week after a court returned him to his mother, responders were unable to resuscitate him authorities said and the same had happened to both her 4-year-old son Gavin when he died in April 2015, and 3-month-old son Niall when he died in July 2014, prosecutors said. Pilkington had called 911 early one morning to say Noah couldn’t breathe. She initially said she believed genetics played a role in the deaths of the boys but she later admitted to suffocating them all to death.
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