Former UNI Athlete Guilty of Killing her Children

TAMPA, Fla. (AP, Roger King) A former eastern Iowa woman says she doesn't know why she shot to death her 13-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter 3 years ago, but she says, "I have time to try to understand that" now.

Julie Schenecker, a former military linguist, was convicted in a Tampa, Florida court yesterday and sentenced to two concurrent life terms. Schenecker had written in her journals that she killed her kids because they were "mouthy."

She allegedly shot her 13 year old son, Beau, twice in the head in the family car for "talking back to her" as she drove him to soccer practice; Schenecker then drove to their upscale home in Tampa, and shot her 16 year old daughter, Calyx, in the face.

The Florida jury delivered its verdict within two hours Thursday, agreeing with the prosecution that the 53-year-old former military linguist knew exactly what she was doing when she aimed a .38-caliber handgun loaded with hollow-point bullets at her children's heads.

The defense argued Schenecker was legally insane.

The shootings happened in 2011 while Schenecker's husband was serving in the Army in the Middle East. They've since divorced.

Julie Schenecker was born in Muscatine, where she excelled as an athlete at school. She later played volleyball for the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

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