An Arizona mother with a history of mental illness who reportedly said she intentionally drowned her 2-year-old twin boys in 2015 because "nobody loved them and nobody loved her" has been sentenced to two lifetimes in prison.
According to KPNX, Mireya Alejandra Lopez, 24, who also attempted to drown their 3-year-old stepbrother but was prevented from doing so by family members, has been found guilty but mentally ill on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
Judge Brad Astrowsky of Maricopa County Superior Court ordered that Lopez be taken to a mental hospital under the jurisdiction of a psychiatric review board.
NBC News reported in 2015 that "police and firefighters were called to a home in the Phoenix suburb of Avondale just before noon [that] Sunday, where they found the twin 2-year-old boys lying unresponsive on a bed."
Attempts to revive the boys were not successful.
“During the course of the police investigation, suspect Mireya Alejandra Lopez ... stated to police that she intentionally drowned both of her twin boys in the bathtub,” Avondale police said. “Mireya also stated to investigators that she also attempted to drown another child in the home, but she was stopped by family and this child did not suffer any injuries.”
Court records said Lopez told investigators that she took medication for depression, schizophrenia and psychosis. She also said she killed her kids because she didn't want them to grow up with the same difficulties she's had, the Arizona Republic reported.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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