A Detroit mother on trial for killing two of her children and storing their bodies in a freezer in her home has been sentenced to life in prison in the case. Mother of four Mitchelle Blair was apparently remorseless when she was sentenced to life in prison without parole Friday morning by Judge Dana Hathaway in a Wayne County courtroom.
She was arrested in March after the bodies were found in a deep freezer in a home she had recently been evicted from. The freezer was kept in the living room of the Martin Luther King Apartments unit she was renting. The eviction crew discovered the bodies and alerted authorities.
At multiple points during the trial, she displayed considerable anger and expressed contempt for the deceased children and the fathers of her children for being absent from their lives. She referred to the deceased children as “demons” and admitted that she beat, burnt and killed them. During the sentencing hearing, the 36-year old Blair said, “As horrendous as everyone thinks I am, that’s fine. But I’m the only one not lying about anything.”
Blair’s son Stephen Gage Berry, 9, was abused and killed by his mother in 2012. Blair’s daughter Stoni Ann Blair, 13, was killed roughly nine months later in 2013. Blair was ultimately charged with two counts of felony murder, two counts of premeditated murder and one count of torture. On June 29, Blair pleaded guilty to the two counts of first-degree murder.
During the sentencing, the judge told Blair that her primary responsibility as a mother was to protect your kids, saying that she “failed in the worst possible way.” Judge Hathaway continued, “They lived in terrible fear of you, and I find that so sad in this case. After all is said and done, you imposed the death penalty on your own children.” Blair responded, “I did.”
Blair also has an 8-year-old son and a 17-year-old daughter. The fathers of those children are now seeking custody of them. Those children’s fathers also fathered Stephen and Stoni Ann, respectively. A court decision on the custody matter is expected to come down later this month.
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