TAMPA — A 53-year-old former military linguist and longtime Army officer’s wife was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder, with jurors rejecting the argument that she was legally insane when she shot and killed her 13-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter more than three years ago.
Julie Schenecker wiped her nose and eyes, then the bailiffs handcuffed her as the verdict was read after just over an hour of deliberations. She was sentenced to two life terms to be served at the same time.
Schenecker killed her daughter, Calyx, and son, Beau, in January 2011 while her Army officer husband, Colonel Parker Schenecker, was on a 10-day deployment to the Middle East. The couple has since divorced.
Before the judge sentenced her, Schenecker took responsibility for what she had done.
Through tears she said, ‘‘I know I shot my son and daughter. I don’t know why. But I have time to try to understand that.’’
If she had been acquitted by reason of insanity, she would be committed to a mental hospital until doctors and a judge agree that she is no longer a danger to herself or others.
Earlier, prosecutors said Schenecker wrote in her journal that she wanted to kill herself and wanted to be cremated with her children, their ashes mixed together.
All six mental health experts who testified said Schenecker was mentally ill, but three experts called by prosecutors said she was legally sane when she shot her children.