Morrisville killings

Morrisville killings
Location
Coordinates	40°12′27″N 74°46′48″W ⧼validator-fatal-error⧽
Date
Target	Family
Attack type	Familicide
Weapon	Ligature, strangulation
Deaths	5
Victims	Jamilla Campbell (age 42) Imani Allen (age 9) Erika Allen (age 9) Naa’Irah Smith (age 25) Damon Decree Jr. (age 13)
Perpetrators	Shana Selena Decree (age 45) Dominique Kiaran Decree (age 19)

The Morrisville killings, also known as the "Morrisville family murder" and "Pennsylvania demon cult" killings, occurred in February 2019, when Shana Selena Decree and her daughter Dominique Kiaran Decree killed five relatives, including three minor children, at their apartment in Morrisville, Pennsylvania.

Both Shana Decree and Dominique Decree, who were 45 and 19 respectively when the killings took place, pled "guilty but mentally ill" and were sentenced to five consecutive life sentences each in 2020.

Background

Shana Selena Decree and her two children Damon Decree Jr. (age 13) and Dominique Kiaran Decree (age 19) lived in an apartment in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. A month before the killings, Shana's sister Jamilla Campbell (age 42) and her twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen (age 9) began residing at the apartment. Jamilla's oldest son, Joshua Campbell (17), was also known to have resided in the apartment, but was not there when the killings occurred. Jamilla had previously been living in New Jersey with her children.

Relatives reported that in the weeks prior to the killings, both Shana and Jamilla had become more reserved, and had retreated into Shana's apartment. Contact with Shana and Jamilla had become infrequent and brief, and when contact was made, they would make reference to bizarre imagery of demons and "pearly gates." Shana's oldest daughter, Naa'Irah Smith (age 25), who had previously been living elsewhere with a fiancé, also exhibited reclusive behavior and began living at the apartment. Walidah Campbell, Shana and Jamilla's sister, became concerned when Naa'Irah did not respond to a text she sent wishing her a happy birthday on February 11. Aware of their relatives' alarming delusions, family members reportedly sought help for them.

After the bodies were discovered, Damon Decree Sr., the father of Damon and Shana's estranged husband, reported to news outlets that he believed his wife and niece had become involved in a cult. Decree Sr. reported to WTVD: "...apparently they had dissected into some type of cult that they materialized online. I don’t know how, what kind of cult. And they were talking about demons being all around them.” The behavior of the family prompted reports to local authorities, resulting in at least one previous visit from social workers prior to the February killings. Authorities have since indicated there is no evidence to support the claims of the killings being ritualistic or related to cult activity.

Both Shana and Dominique reportedly had a history of mental illness. According to her attorney, Dominique began receiving mental health treatment around age 5. In court, Shana's attorney stated that she suffered from delusions, Court-appointed psychiatrists testified that the two suffered from schizoid personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and major depressive disorder.

Approximately two weeks prior to the killings, Shana notified her son Damon's school of her intention to withdraw him, stating that she intended on homeschooling Damon. However, Shana never formally withdrew Damon, and she did not return the school's repeated attempts to contact her. The district superintended confirmed that there was an open child welfare case on the family at the time. Damon had missed several days of school leading up to the killings.

Incident

On February 25, 2019, a case worker from the Bucks County Children and Youth Services performed an unannounced visit the Decree family apartment. The case worker had previously been inside the residence on February 5, and reported that the apartment was in normal condition. The case worker did not receive a response after knocking on the door and contacted an apartment maintenance worker to perform a wellness check. The maintenance worker discovered two individuals in a bedroom "disoriented."

Morrisville Police and emergency services were dispatched to the scene. The disoriented individuals were identified as Shana Decree, 45, and Dominique Decree, 19. Visibly injured, the two were taken to a nearby hospital. Dominique had "superficial" knife wounds in her neck.

Police entered the apartment and found the apartment to be in disarray, with furniture turned over and broken glass strewn throughout the residence. Police found the first few rooms to be unoccupied, but in a back bedroom discovered the bodies of Jamilla Campbell, age 42; Imani Allen, age 9; Erika Allen, age 9; Damon Decree Jr., age 13; and Naa'Irah Smith, age 25. Authorities searched for a missing eighth reported resident of the apartment, Jamilla's son Joshua; he was located in New Jersey.

When questioned, Shana and Dominique initially both denied knowing or remembering what happened, then claimed that Shana's boyfriend entered the apartment with two unknown men and attacked the family, killing the five, and leaving Shana and Dominique as the sole survivors. Later, Shana told police that the family "wanted to die" and had been discussing suicide. Both confessed to taking part in a supposed murder-suicide pact. Dominique claimed Shana killed Imani, Damon, and Naa'Irah and that Jamilla killed Erika before being strangled by Dominique.

Autopsies determined that Naa'Irah, Imani, Erika, and Damon were killed by homicidal asphyxia, while Jamilla was killed via ligature strangulation. The exact date of the killings remains unclear, though they are believed to have occurred between February 23 and 25.

A makeshift memorial was set up around the Morrisville apartment, and a prayer prayer vigil was held for the victims on February 28.

Legal proceedings

On February 26, 2019, Shana Decree and Dominique Decree were arrested and charged with five counts of first degree murder and one count of conspiracy each. Both were held without bail.

On February 18, 2020, both suspects pleaded not guilty to all charges, with a trial set for June 8, 2020. However, an extension was given due to the judicial emergency declared in Bucks County amid the coronavirus outbreak in the state. The deadline was extended again on September 28, 2020, which gave prosecutors three more months to negotiate the death penalty.

On October 1, 2020, Shana and Dominique Decree pled "guilty but mentally ill" to all charges. The two were sentenced to five life sentences each. The sentences will run consecutively. By agreeing to plead guilty, the two avoided the death penalty. Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub also cited the pair's history of mental illness as a factor in the removal of the death penalty. Shana's attorney stated that she, “Believed the world was ending and there were demons in her house, and she had to obey them."

Regarding the difference between their plea versus pleading insanity, the chief deputy district attorney Christopher Rees said: "In this case, what they knew was they were killing people. And what they knew was they shouldn't be killing people. Even if you're doing it for reasons that are inexplicable, or maybe reasons that are rooted in mental illness, when those two factors are in play that's guilty but mentally ill and not insanity."

Both Shana and Dominique presented apologies to the courtroom. Shana Decree said, "The hardest thing for me to do is decide who to say I’m sorry to first. To my family, I am sorry for taking away these beautiful souls in such a horrible manner.” Dominque Decree stated, “I’m so sorry for everything that happened, and I truly don’t understand why it happened" and that her actions will haunt her for the rest of her life.

References

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