A Pennsylvania woman who drowned her two youngest sons in their bathtub because she felt that would enable her to be a better mother to their older brother has been sentenced to 30 to 80 years in prison.
An Allegheny County judge in March found 44-year-old Laurel Schlemmer guilty but mentally ill of third-degree murder after hearing three days of testimony and arguments.
The judge called the sentence imposed Wednesday a de-facto life term given the defendant's age.
The McCandless woman's attorney had argued that her diminished mental capacity kept her from forming the intent to kill her sons, 6-year-old Daniel and 3-year-old Luke.
Schlemmer has told police that she killed the boys in April 2014 so she could be a better mother to their elder brother, who was 7 at the time.
