According to the court documents, the 34-year-old mother will spend the rest of her life in prison for killing her 8-year-old son and attempting to smother her 6-year-old son to death. The mom then jumped off a bridge. The 34-year-old mother was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday. In August, the defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2017 death of her 8-year-old son and first-degree assault for smothering her younger son.
Prosecutors say that authorities executed a search warrant on the defendant’s, Aushena Warren, iPhone and found that she had performed internet searches for the following phrases: “how long does it take to drown”; “how long does it take to suffocate someone”; “mother murders children”; “can pillows smother”; “which kills you faster suffocating or drowning”.
The 34-year-old mother from Missouri admitted that on June 17, 2017 she first tried to smother her 6-year-old son to death with a pillow while he was lying in bed at their home. The mother then drowned her 8-year-old son, Audrick Warren, in their bathtub.
Her husband was at work. The 6-year-old boy called him using FaceTime. When he arrived at their family home in Missouri, he found the 8-year-old boy unresponsive in the tub. The boy’s mother was nowhere to be found. He called 911, but the 8-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy determined that his death was a homicide caused by drowning.
Right before 10 a.m. witnesses told police that the 34-year-old woman jumped off of the Kit Bond bridge into the Missouri River. The woman was brought to the hospital and treated for her injuries.
Prosecutors say the 34-year-old mother allegedly left a note at the scene of the crime blaming her actions on a financial crisis:
“Tell the world I’m sorry. I had to save us from this financial crisis. There was no way to fund our lives and I blame myself for that. I had to save the babies from wondering why their parents had to give them up to family or the system. I’m so sorry. Mom, I’m sorry … [Name redacted], I’m sorry. I love you guys … You’ll never understand this and nothing makes this acceptable … but I had to save the babies. [Husband’s name redacted] … I’m sorry, I blame myself and lack of everything for us landing here.”
This story will be updated as new information become available.