Actions

Mom who killed her newborn twins sentenced to 8 years in prison

Posted at 4:21 PM, May 28, 2015
and last updated 2015-05-28 17:43:18-04

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, Va. -- A Henrico mother was sentenced to serve eight years in prison for the deaths of her newborn twins.  Darnesha Berry threw her babies down the trash chute of her fourth-floor dorm at St. Paul’s College in Lawrence, Virginia, back in 1998. Berry was arrested in 2013 after a report by WTVR CBS 6 News senior reporter Wayne Covil highlighted the cold case. She was eventually convicted of involuntary manslaughter and child abuse.

In addition to prison time, the judge ordered Berry to pay a $50,000 fine.

"We were more concerned about her liberty, she can always get money to pay the fine, she can't get the time spent away from her family and friends, so that was more of the focus of what our argument was today," Berry's lawyer Paul Gregorio said.

Berry, now a mother of four, read a letter in court before her sentencing that stated she had been living in her own prison for 17 years and that she knew what she did was wrong.

During their re-investigation of the case, police used feminine hygiene products found inside a trash can outside Berry’s Henrico home as evidence linking her to the crime.

CBS6-News-at-4pm-and-Jennifer-Hudson-480x360.jpg

Entertainment

Watch 'The Jennifer Hudson Show' weekdays at 3 p.m. on CBS 6!

📱 Download CBS 6 News App
The app features breaking news alerts, live video, weather radar, traffic incidents, closings and delays and more.