For the deaths of her newborn twin babies, 26-year-old Lindsey Lowe was convicted on Tuesday of “two counts each of felony first-degree murder, premeditated first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.” After jurors deliberated only for a little more than two hours, the newborn twins' mother was found guilty on all charges for the 2011 deaths of her twin babies, reported The Tennessean on March 19, 2013.
“The murder convictions carry automatic life sentences. Lowe could face an additional 15 to 25 years on each aggravated child abuse conviction during a sentencing hearing April 26.”
After hearing the guilty verdict, the newborn twins' mother mouthed to her family, “I’m OK.” While Lindsey Lowe showed very little emotion, her family members and supporters sobbed. Lindsey Lowe’s bond was revoked and was taken into custody after the Sumner County jury had reached its guilty verdict.
Sumner County Criminal Court Judge Dee David Gay said that he would combine the first-degree felony and first-degree premeditated murder charges into one conviction for each infant and that he would announce during April’s sentencing hearing whether the two life sentences will be served simultaneously or consecutively.
“At the very least, Lowe won’t be eligible for parole until she’s 77 years old.”
The key piece of evidence during the trial was Lindsey Lowe’s own videotaped statement to the police.
“Certainly it was a key because she admitted what she had done,” said District Attorney Ray Whitley. “It was unsullied, and I believe the truth backed up what her statement was.”
Even though Lindsey Lowe’s attorneys tried very hard to have the key evidence suppressed, the judge allowed it. Lindsey Lowe’s attorneys had argued that the newborn twins' mother had not been properly read her Miranda rights and that Lindsey Lowe’s statement was coerced.
“In the statement, Lowe admitted she held her hand over each infant’s mouth to quiet their cries after giving birth to them in a toilet in the home she shared with her parents and sister.”
Lindsey Lowe’s defense attorney called the deaths of the newborn twins “a dissociative disorder” and argued that Lindsey Lowe was “in a state of denial about her pregnancy.”
In contrast, prosecutors argued that Lindsey Lowe had cheated on her fiancé and therefore kept her pregnancy with the twins a secret. Prosecutors also argued that the twins' mother had planned from the beginning to the end of her pregnancy to kill her babies in order “to conceal her affair.”
After the seven-day trial, the jurors believed the prosecutors.
In the end, Sumner County District Attorney Ray Whitley said that “I’m very proud of our jury for making the right decision. … If we don’t stand up for little infants, we’re in bad shape as a society.”
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