Irving mother who admitted to killing children found guilty of capital murder
IRVING, Texas - An Irving mother who admitted to police that she killed her 1-year-old and 6-year-old daughters was found guilty of capital murder on Wednesday.
Madison McDonald stood motionless with her attorneys while listening to the verdict.
She walked into the Irving police station and admitted to smothering her two children in her Valley Ranch apartment on April 5, 2021. Investigators discovered the children were given a cocktail of sedatives as well.
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McDonald pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Her attorney said she suffered from several mental health disorders and was not aware that what she was doing was wrong at the time.
During the course of the trial, prosecutors played video of McDonald's confession and a 911 call she made on the night of the killings.
The jury reached a unanimous guilty verdict in less than an hour on Wednesday afternoon.
Afterward, outside the courtroom, family members consoled McDonald’s mother, Julie Kidd. She was among the witnesses who testified in her daughter’s defense.
The week-long trial included doctors, police officers, CPS workers and McDonald’s ex-husband - the father of one of her children – and they all had firsthand knowledge of McDonald’s mental health struggles over the years.
Including her irrational belief that some were trying to take her daughter’s and sell them into a sex trafficking ring.
On the day she killed her daughters, she went to the Irving Police Department lobby to tell them what she'd done.
McDonald received an automatic life prison sentence without parole.