A “damaged” mother killed her two younger sons simply days after her decades-older husband died of most cancers — then tried to leap to her personal demise so they may all be “reunited in Heaven.”
Vanessa Collias, 27, sobbed in court docket Monday as she pleaded responsible to killing sons Yiannis, 5, and Dimitri, 4, in December 2023, simply 9 days after her 72-year-old husband, Costa, succumbed to an aggressive type of Leukemia, based on the Toronto Star.
She held her fingers over their mouths and nostril whereas singing “You Are My Sunshine” — then jumped off the balcony of their Toronto house within the hopes of killing herself, too.
Police discovered the brothers’ our bodies mendacity in entrance of a TV with a youngsters’ present taking part in, with garments for his or her funeral laid out beside them — together with {a photograph} of their lately deceased dad and a cross.
The killer mother survived her soar, however was left paralyzed from the waist down.
She was initially charged with first-degree homicide, however the costs have been downgraded to second-degree homicide due to the grief she was affected by her husband’s demise after a painful spiral.
She had informed the psychiatrist she was “damaged, completely alone, and unable to conceive of constant a life with out (her husband) and wished all of them to be reunited in Heaven.”
“Part of me will all the time query why I by no means mentioned I need assistance,” Collias mentioned throughout an emotional digital court docket look from jail. “I stand earlier than you, nonetheless that damaged one that wants assist placing herself again collectively,” she mentioned.
“To my infants, I really like you greater than something,” she sobbed. “Thanks for exhibiting me what real love is. You guys will eternally be my favourite a part of me. I’m so grateful I obtained to be your mother. The toughest factor I’ll ever must do is to study to be OK being right here with out you.”
Regardless of the lesser cost, Collias was nonetheless sentenced to life in jail with out parole for at the very least 18 years.
Collias mentioned that she knew what she did was unsuitable, however hoped “others would perceive that her intent was to avoid wasting her sons and to be together with her husband in order that they may all be collectively,” based on court docket paperwork.
Collias’ husband died on Dec. 1, 2023, and she or he killed the boys on Dec. 10. She informed the court docket she was already exhausted from being her husband’s 24/7 caretaker and “watching him slowly deteriorate earlier than my eyes.”
When she grew to become a single mom after he died, she mentioned: “I broke. I couldn’t push no extra.”
