UPDATE: Julie Schenecker Found GUILTY Of Murdering Her 2 Teenage Children, Daughter Calyx and Son Beau ~ Sentenced To Mandatory Life In Prison

MPA, FLA. –  Officials say the woman accused of killing her teenage daughter and son is being treated at a hospital.

Authorities say Julie Powers Schenecker was taken to Tampa General Hospital shortly after midnight Saturday to be treated for a medical condition that existed before she was taken to jail.

Police said Schenecker shot and killed her son on the way to soccer practice Thursday night, then drove to their upscale home and shot her daughter in the head while the girl studied at her computer. The teens' bodies were found Friday morning, after Schenecker's mother called police and told them she was concerned after her daughter had sent an e-mail saying she was depressed.

Schenecker's husband is an Army officer who was in the Middle East when the shootings happened.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — When police responded to a call from a concerned relative and found Julie Schenecker on the back porch of her Tampa home, they said she was covered in blood and made a gut-wrenching admission: She had killed her teenage son and daughter because they were "mouthy."

Police said the military officer's wife, described by her mother as depressed, shot and killed her son on the way to soccer practice, then drove to their upscale home and shot her daughter in the head while the girl studied at her computer.

"I think we will never understand how or why a mother could take the lives of her children," police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said. "That was the only reason she provided to our detectives."

Schenecker was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Wearing a white jumpsuit, she was led into a county jail on Friday, shaking and being supported by a sheriff's deputy.

Now authorities are trying to understand what triggered the killings.

Schenecker's mother had called police from Texas at about 7:40 a.m. Friday because she was unable to reach the 50-year-old woman, whom she said was depressed and had been complaining about her children.

McElroy said Schenecker left a note detailing her plans to kill her children and then herself, saying "they talked back and were mouthy and that she was going to take care of it." She provided the same motive to police who interviewed her, authorities said.

"During a post-Miranda interview with detectives, the suspect confessed to killing her two children," police said in a statement. "She described the crimes in detail."

Schenecker's husband, Army Col. Parker Schenecker, is stationed at the headquarters of U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. The father had been away for several days, said CentCom spokesman Lt. Col. Michael Lawhorn, describing him as a career Army intelligence officer.

Police said Parker Schenecker was in Qatar and was told of his children's deaths on Friday.

Officers found the body of Schenecker's daughter, Calyx Schenecker, 16, in an upstairs bedroom, McElroy said. The body of her son, Beau Schenecker, 13, was found in a sport utility vehicle in the garage.

An arrest affidavit said Schenecker shot her son twice in the head "for talking back" as she drove him to soccer practice Thursday night. She drove home, went inside and shot her daughter in the back of head while the teen sat at a computer doing homework, then shot her in the face, the affidavit said.

McElroy said investigators believe the teens "never saw it coming." Both were killed with a .38-caliber pistol. Police said the weapon was purchased five days earlier, The Tampa Tribune reported.

The family's home is on a cul-de-sac in a gated country club community in north Tampa.

Charanun Soodjinda, 38, lives across the street. He said the Scheneckers moved in about two years ago and "fit right in." The couple's two children often played in the cul-de-sac with other neighborhood kids, and Julie Schenecker seemed to be at home a lot.

"They seemed like a nice family," Soodjinda said. "I never thought this would happen. How could you do that to your children?"

Seena Jain, who carpooled with the Schenecker children and her own daughter, Sheema, 15, told the St. Petersburg Times that recently Parker Schenecker had picked up his wife's carpooling shift while she recovered from a serious car crash that happened about a month ago. Details of the accident weren't immediately available.

The Times also reported that the Department of Children and Families said it investigated a complaint involving the family about two months ago, but that the tip was determined to be unfounded and the case was closed. Agency spokesman Terry Field told the paper he could not elaborate.

Media outlets described the students as active at school, with Beau playing soccer at Liberty Middle School and Calyx in the pre-International Baccalaureate program at King High School, where she ran cross-country and started a Harry Potter fan club.

Sylvia Carroll, who attended Muscatine High School in Iowa with Julie Schenecker, said she was a popular and athletic student who excelled in basketball in the late 1970s. They reconnected about a year ago on Facebook.

"I'm just in shock," said Carroll, who now lives in Austin, Texas. "I can't believe this."

___

Associated Press writers Christine Armario and David Fischer in Miami contributed to this report.

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The 50-year-old woman accused of killing her two teenage children remains in Tampa General Hospital and will not appear in a Tampa courtroom Saturday.

Tampa Police say she was taken to the facility late Friday for 'treatment of a medical condition that existed prior to being brought to the Hillsborough County jail.'

Julie Schenecker was booked into jail Friday night on charges of first degree murder.

The Tampa Police Department said she confessed to the crimes.

According to police, Julie Powers Schenecker shot and killed her two children, Calyx Powers Schenecker, 16, and Powers Beau Schenecker, 13.

Officials began investigating the incident Friday morning after a call came in from Schenecker's mother, who lives in Texas. She told detectives she was concerned that she could not reach her daughter who she believed was depressed, after receiving an email indicating that.

Then, when police responded to Schenecker's home in the 16000 block of Royal Park Court in Tampa Palms, they found the two children deceased.

Police said they found the mother on the back patio covered in blood, her son shot to death in the garage, and her daughter dead upstairs. They also found a note describing how she planned to kill her children and then herself.

Investigators said Schenecker told them she was the one responsible for the deaths of her children.

"She had admitted to committing those crimes and taking the lives of her two children," Laura McElroy of the Tampa Police Department said. "She described the crimes in detail to our detectives."

Counselors were brought out to the home for officers after one discovered what they described as a 'horrific and gruesome crime scene.'

Police said around 7 p.m. Thursday, Schenecker armed herself with a .38-caliber pistol she had just purchased over the weekend.

Detectives said the daughter was shot in the back of the head while she was doing her homework and the son was found shot twice in the head in an SUV in the garage. Officials also found a note in which it was written had planned to kill her children and then herself.

"The children never saw it coming -- one was shot from behind, one was shot from the side," McElroy said. "We don't believe the children knew that their mother meant to harm them."

Investigators are still on scene trying to figure out any sort of motivation behind the children's deaths.

"She did tell us that they talked back, they were mouthy and that she was tired of it, but I don't think that is going to be a reason any of us can understand of how you can take the life of your child," McElroy said.

Neighbors surrounded the home, shocked to hear what had happened.

"It's doubly disturbing to me that someone could do this to their child or children, so yes, it's very disturbing," one neighbor said.

Schenecker was visibly shaking as she was taken to the Orient Road Jail, where she now sits, facing two counts of first-degree murder.

Schenecker is married to Parker Schenecker, 48, a U.S. Army colonel who is currently stationed in Qatar. He is expected to return to the Bay area next week.
About the teenage victims

Calyx Schenecker, 16, was a sophomore at King High School, where the principal spoke out after her murder, calling her 'an outstanding student.'

Calyx was on the track team and the speech and debate team, as well as a member of the IB program and Harry Potter Club.

The principal of the high school said she last saw Calyx Thursday in a Spanish class.

"Yes, she was in the IB program, a great young lady, an outstanding student, if you wanted a daughter, that's who you would want," the principal said.

School officials said they did not break the news to students during school hours because nothing had been made official yet. However, they are planning to have grief counselors at the school on Monday.

Powers 'Beau' Schenecker, 13, was in the eighth grade at Liberty Middle School.

A vigil was held Friday night for Calyx and Beau at Hampton Park in New Tampa.

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TAMPA --
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Classmates, friends, and neighbors held a candlelight vigil Friday night for a brother and sister who were killed earlier in the day by their own mother, according to detectives.

Calyx, 16, and Beau, 13, were found shot to death Friday morning in their New Tampa home. Detectives said their mother, Julie Schenecker, is to blame.

The loss is really hitting home, particularly for the young people who knew Calyx and Beau.

Hundreds of people lit candles and marched from Hampton Park to the Ashington Reserve subdivision where Calyx and Beau lived.

Once they arrived at the subdivision, they stood outside the gated community, hugging, crying, and remembering their friends.

"As soon as we found out, we felt there needed to be something done because both of them are so amazing," a friend who attended the vigil said. "They both had very big hearts and they helped everybody and they really expressed their talents through every single thing they did."

Teachers and parents encouraged the grieving young people to focus on the good times they shared with Calyx and Beau.

Calyx was a sophomore at King High School, where the principal spoke out after her murder, calling her 'an outstanding student.'

Calyx was on the track team and the speech and debate team, as well as a member of the IB program and Harry Potter Club.

Powers 'Beau' Schenecker, 13, was in the eighth grade at Liberty Middle School.

Friends described them as 'happy' and 'caring' while struggling to make sense of what happened.

Officials responded to the family's residence in New Tampa after receiving a call from Julie Schenecker's mother, who lives in Texas, claiming she was worried after she received a depressing email from her daughter.

When police arrived on scene they found both Calyx, 16, and Beau, 13, shot to death and their mother covered in blood. They then found a note in which the mother described how she planned to kill them and herself.

Schenecker was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Schenecker is married to Parker Schenecker, 48, a U.S. Army colonel who is currently stationed in Qatar. He is expected to return to the Bay area next week. Friends say as soon as he heard the news, he began heading home to Tampa.

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Calyx Schenecker

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Julie Schenecker was jailed and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Wearing a white jumpsuit, she was led into a county jail later Friday visibly shaking and being supported by a sheriff's deputy.

Her Facebook page says she earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from the University of Northern Iowa.

Sylvia Carroll, who attended Muscatine High School in Iowa with Julie Schenecker, said she was a popular and athletic girl who starred in basketball in the late 1970s. They reconnected about a year ago on Facebook.

"I'm just in shock," said Carroll, who now lives in Austin, Texas. "I can't believe this."

The family's home is on a cul-de-sac in a gated country club community in north Tampa. Hillsborough County property records show that the Scheneckers bought the house in 2008 for $448,000. It now has a market value of $261,000.

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OMG, she looks like she has completely snapped!! WTH!! One report says she shot her daughter in the back of the head AND in the face!!

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Julie Powers Schenecker, 50, is lead away from the Tampa Police Department, Friday, January 28, 2011 in Tampa, Florida. Julie Powers Schenecker faces two charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of 16-year-old Calyx Powers Schenecker and 13-year-old Powers Beau Schenecker, 13. Tampa Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said Schenecker admitted to the killings. (Samara Sodos, The Tampa Tribune via The Associated Press / January 28, 2011)

The woman who authorities say killed her teenage daughter and son because she was fed up with them talking back and being mouthy will not appear in court Saturday because she's being treated at a hospital for an unknown condition.

Authorities say Julie Powers Schenecker was taken to Tampa General Hospital shortly after midnight Saturday to be treated for a medical condition that existed before she was taken to jail. Hillsborough Sheriff's deputies — who oversee jail inmates — said they could not reveal Schenecker's medical condition, citing health care privacy laws.

An arrest affidavit said Schenecker shot her son twice in the head in the family car "for talking back" as she drove him to soccer practice. The report said Schenecker then drove to their upscale home and shot her daughter in the face inside the home.

Schenecker's mother called police Friday morning and told them she was concerned after her daughter had sent an e-mail saying she was depressed. Officers found Schenecker drenched in blood on her back porch — and after they saw the teens, the scene was so troubling that a stress team was called to counsel the responding officers, a police spokeswoman said.

Calyx, the girl, was 16 and a cross-country running star at her high school. The 13-year-old son, Beau, was in eighth grade.

Investigators think the teens "never saw it coming," police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said. Both were killed with a .38-caliber pistol. The arrest affidavit said the weapon was purchased five days earlier.

Schenecker's husband, Parker Schenecker, is a career Army officer attached to U.S. Central Command in Tampa. He was working in the Middle East when the shootings happened.

In 2008, the family moved to Tampa and bought a $448,000 home in a quiet, upscale suburban neighborhood. As the sun set Friday evening, residents walked by crime-scene tape that sealed off the cul-de-sac that the Schenecker family lived on.

Neighbor Charanun Soodjinda said the Scheneckers "fit right in" when they arrived. The couple's two children often played in the cul-de-sac with other neighborhood kids, and Julie Schenecker seemed to be at home a lot.

"They seemed like a nice family," said Soodjinda, 38. "I never thought this would happen. How could you do that to your children?"

It was clear something had gone wrong: As police led Julie Schenecker to a patrol car Friday, she shook uncontrollably, her eyes wide and wild.

Before Friday's arrest, Schenecker had no criminal record in Florida. On Nov. 8, 2010, she was involved in a car crash in Tampa, according to records from the Florida Highway Patrol, and cited for careless driving.

The crash caused bodily injury and $26,500 of property damage, records show, but it does not explain who was injured or what property was damaged. Schenecker paid a $151 fine and attended traffic school, the report said.

The family appeared to be happy, at least according to friends — and they appeared to glow in photos posted online. The two teens were described as well-mannered by family friends. In several family portraits on Parker Schenecker's Facebook page, the four posed, smiling and relaxed.

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"You all look so stunning and young. Did you find the fountain of youth and your not telling anyone!!!! WOW, you four look so good and healthy!!!" wrote one of Schenecker's friends on a dramatic black-and-white photo of the family.

Another photo shows the four in Santa hats. "What a great photo! You never disappoint! Your family is something to be proud of, look at how happy every one of you are!" a friend wrote in response.

Parker Schenecker also posted several photos of Calyx's cross-country running team.

Julie Schenecker's Facebook page says she studied physical education at the University of Iowa. In May 2010, she posted a video of her husband; he appeared in a real estate company's video about looking for a home in Tampa.

She posted words of encouragement on her daughter's running photos, reminisced about skiing in Austria in the late '80s and added more than 400 friends.

On Aug. 24, she "liked" a link that read: "Be kinder than necessary, because everyone you meet is fighting some sort of battle."

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ST. PETERSBURG, Florida | Mon Jan 31, 2011 12:27pm EST

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) - Bail was denied on Monday for a Florida woman accused of murdering her two teen-aged children because they talked back to her.

Julie Schenecker, 50, was arrested last Friday after police found the bodies of her 16-year old daughter Calyx and 13-year old son Beau at their home in Tampa. Both children had been shot in the head.

Tampa police said Schenecker confessed to them that she killed the children because they talked back to her.

Schenecker spent Saturday and part of Sunday at a Tampa hospital for undisclosed reasons before she was returned to jail.

She made her first court appearance Monday morning at the Hillsborough County Courthouse in Tampa dressed in a prison suit with the word "Inmate" on the front. She was represented by a public defender and did not speak.

Schenecker's husband Parker Schenecker, 48, is a colonel in the U.S. Army who is assigned to the Central Command headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. He was out of the country on duty when the murders took place and it was not known if he has returned.

Counselors were available Monday at King High School, where Calyx attended, and Liberty Middle School, where Beau was a student, to help classmates of both deal with their grief.

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(CNN) -- Police opened, and then dropped, an investigation of physical abuse involving a Florida mother against her teen daughter, closing the case weeks before the woman admitted killing the girl and her brother because they were "mouthy."

Julie K. Schenecker, 50, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her 13-year-old son, Beau Powers Schenecker, and her 16-year-old daughter, Calyx Powers Schenecker.

She was denied bond at a court appearance Monday, a court spokesman said.

"Our belief was that she didn't snap -- she planned this," Tampa, Florida, police spokesperson Laura McElroy told HLN's Vinnie Politan on Monday.

New details emerged about the alleged murder as well as a run-in Schenecker had with police months earlier, regarding her treatment of her children.

In November, police opened a child abuse investigation into allegations Schenecker had abused Calyx, according to a report from the Tampa Police.

A responding officer, Julie Becker, wrote that she didn't see any "visible injuries" on Calyx, nor did the girl complain of any. "She seemed cautious of what was saying, and at times began to cry," Becker said in her report.

Calyx told police that days earlier her mother repeatedly hit her while they were driving home, before she was able to run to a safe spot in her room. The girl said that a month and a half earlier, her mother had hit her so hard in the face it caused her lip to bleed.

Julie Schenecker told police she had hit the girl three times in the first incident after the girl told her, "You're disgusting," and "You're not my parent," according to the police report. She said Calyx was not bruised or bleeding afterward.

The mother also admitted hitting the girl once more than a month earlier, according to her police statement, but she again denied that Calyx had bled.

Becker noted, "There is no prior history (related to) this location and the family."

On December 21, having found "no evidence of a criminal offense," authorities ended their investigation of the case.

McElroy, the Tampa police spokeswoman, said Monday that the daughter's seeming "regret" over her comments and the fact no wounds could be seen prompted the investigators' decision.

"Parents can discipline their children using physical force, as long as there's no injury," said McElroy. "That's why there was no criminal offense at that time."

But McElroy said police determined on January 28 after they arrived at the family home that Schenecker had plotted to kill the teens. Authorities went to the house after getting a call from the suspect's mother who, after e-mail communications the previous night, was worried her daughter was depressed.

Officers arrived at 7:45 a.m. to find Julie Schenecker on her home's back porch, "a little combative" and her clothing soaked in blood, McElroy said.

Police then found Calyx's body in an upstairs bedroom. She had been shot twice in the head, police said. Beau's body was later found in the front seat of an SUV inside the home's garage, police said. They said he was shot while he was being driven to soccer practice.

A preliminary investigation indicates the teens were killed Thursday night, the police statement said, but the county medical examiner will determine their time of death.

Schenecker confessed to killing the children, according to a police statement, eventually recounting her rationale and thought process "in detail," according to a press release.

"She did tell us that they talked back, that they were mouthy," McElroy told CNN affiliate WTSP late last week. "But I don't think that will ever serve as an explanation to the rest of us of how you could take a child's life."

Schenecker had initially planned what she called the "massacre" -- killing the children and then herself, McElroy said on Monday -- for January 22, but she put it off after learning there would be a three-day check before she could buy a gun.

Police later found writings in the house, thought to be from Schenecker, in which she spelled out her intentions in detail.

"There are definitely indications that she planned this," McElroy said. "(The writing) was devoid of emotion."

Schenecker's husband, Parker, is a colonel in the U.S. Army. He is a member of U.S. Central Command and police told CNN affiliate WFTS that he was in Qatar when his children were killed.

Schenecker appeared in court Monday via video link from jail, WFTS reported. She held a tissue and wept softly during the two-minute appearance.

Judge Walter Heinrich said at the hearing that Schenecker likely will undergo a psychiatric evaluation, according to CNN affiliates WTSP and WFTS.

She did not enter a plea because of that likelihood, according to Hillsborough County Court spokesman Calvin Green.

No new court dates are set in the case, Green said. Prosecutors have 21 days to present the case to a grand jury.

The mourning for the young victims continues in West Florida, where a vigil was held Friday night.

On Monday -- their first day back since the shootings became public -- students at Liberty Middle School in Tampa, wore blue and black in memory of Beau, an eighth-grader at the school.

"We wanted to show him that we miss him and he didn't deserve this," Jae Shim, the boy's classmate and friend, told CNN affiliate WFTS.

Those students had responded to postings on Facebook, where a page had been set up to honor the boy and his sister, a sophomore and cross-country standout at King High School.

"Heaven is now home to two new angels," read one post, from Ron Taskey. "May you both rest in peace!"

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slideshow of pics of kids and Julie Scheckener under arrest:

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This is the saddest thing. To think she planned this out methodically is just beyond bizarre!! I feel for her husband who was in Iraq. My God, to come home to these horrific circumstances is beyond belief! Too bad she didn't carry out the entire plan. She was suppose to kill herself, too!!

These childrens' poor father. Here he is, protecting democracy, having to be a "mediator" between mother and daughter while over there. I feel so sorry for him, his children...struck down by their own mother. I pray that as suggested up thread, that they never knew what was happening. :(

I guess she was too scared to do herself in after she murdered her children.
I don't know how anyone, let alone a Mother who could methodically plan to take someone else's life.
I so feel for the Father and the Husband of this female.

Julie looks like she is possessed.

(AP) – 1 day ago
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A grand jury indicted a Tampa mother on two charges of first-degree murder Thursday after finding sufficient evidence to send her to trial for allegedly shooting her teenage children to death because they were talking back.
Julie Schenecker, 50, was arrested Jan. 28 on preliminary charges, and the Hillsborough County grand jury formally charged her with two counts of premeditated first-degree murder, which could carry the death penalty if she is convicted.
Her attorney, public defender Robert Frasier, declined to comment. Her arraignment is set for Feb. 16.
The day Schenecker was arrested, her mother had called police from Texas and asked officers to check on her daughter, who had been depressed and complaining about her children, 16-year-old Calyx and 13-year-old Beau.
Records showed that the family had been in counseling and police were called to investigate an abuse claim after Calyx told the counselor that her mom hit her on two occasions.
A search-warrant affidavit filed with the court said two police officers found Schenecker unconscious on the screened back porch of the upscale Tampa home, her white robe covered with dried blood.
The warrant said one officer woke her up and took her inside to talk, while the other went looking for the children.
One of the officers found the covered body of Schenecker's daughter, Calyx, in a bed upstairs, the affidavit said. The body of her son Beau was found in a van in the garage, also covered with a blanket. She told detectives she killed them for being "mouthy."
Laura McElroy, a Tampa Police spokeswoman, said Schenecker referred to a "massacre" in a note officers found in home. It was unclear what Schenecker meant and McElroy would not reveal the context.
Schenecker told detectives she had shot her son twice in the head in the van "for talking back" while she drove him to soccer practice. She said she returned home and killed her daughter with two shots to the head while the girl sat at a computer doing homework. She then apparently moved her to a bed.
Both teens were killed with a .38-caliber pistol, which authorities say Schenecker bought five days earlier.
McElroy said Schenecker's note made reference to a three-day gun waiting period, and how it would "delay the massacre."
Bullets, medication and a Smith & Wesson instruction manual were among the items found in the master bedroom and bathroom upstairs, the document said. It did not specify what type of medication was found.
Funeral services for the two teens were held Tuesday in Fort Worth, Texas. Their father, Parker Schenecker — an Army colonel who was working in the Middle East when his children were killed — told more than 500 mourners that his children were loved.
"Now we all must go forward to honor them with love and respect for each other," he said
Julie Schenecker is being held without bail at the Hillsborough County jail.

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By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 5:21 PM on 11th February 2011

The devastated father of the teenagers who were allegedly shot and killed by their mother has vowed to dedicate the rest of his life to his children.

Calyx and Beau Schenecker were 'shot and killed for being mouthy' last month and their mother, Julie Schenecker, faces first degree murder charges for shooting the teenagers days after she wrote a note saying she was planning a 'massacre'.

Their father, U.S. Army Colonel Parker Schenecker, wrote an emotional and moving tribute to his kids in which he describes their 'special qualities and incredible spirits'.
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He said: 'My children Calyx and Beau were typical kids who lived exceptional lives. They were bright and happy, admired by all who came in contact with them.

'Like most kids their age, they loved their friends, school and sports - two all-American children in every aspect. However, through growing up in many different parts of the world, they developed many special qualities.'

Devastated: 'I will forever miss my beautiful, loving kids.' Parker Schenecker speaks at the memorial service for his two children

In the essay, which he wrote for People magazine, he went on to describe each child individually, revealing that Calyx was friendly and outgoing and had a desire to change the world.

She was also a huge Harry Potter fan.

He wrote of the 16-year-old: 'She challenged everyone around her to think about others. She worked tirelessly to help her school raise money for the American Cancer Society, and she often spoke of her intense desire to 'do something that would change the world.' It's my goal that Calyx still will.'

Speaking about 13-year-old Beau, he called him 'all boy' with a love of soccer but a passion for his friends.

'He and his buddies were silly, fun loving and friends for life,' he said. 'Beau had an incredible gift of empathy for others, even seeking out new kids and bringing them into his group.

'What I will remember most about Beau is his infectious smile and innate sense of humour.'

Colonel Schenecker also revealed that friends have helped him to establish a memorial fund in their honour so he can support the causes they believed in and help improve the lives of others, something he said was a standard by which his children lived.

'To help cope with my loss and have their incredible spirits live on, I am dedicating the rest of my life to honouring my children,' he said.

'I encourage others, especially those who join me in mourning Calyx and Beau, to help keep the essence of their spirits alive by being kind to others, by working and playing hard, and by living their lives with purpose.'

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Prescription for death: Schenecker described the killings as a massacre in a note before the shootings

Since their deaths, it has emerged that Julie Schenecker had been investigated for child abuse three months before she allegedly shot them both in the head in their home

Detectives quizzed the 50-year-old last November after Calyx complained her angry mother had struck her violently in the face a number of times.


More...
'They never saw it coming': Mother shoots her two teenage children twice in the head 'for being mouthy'
Mother planned a 'massacre' before she 'shot her children for being mouthy'
Mother who shot her teenage children 'for being mouthy' was investigated for child abuse three months before double murder
Schenecker wept on Monday as a judge ordered her to be held without bail for the murders of her two children.

She was arrested at her Tampa Bay, Florida, home the previous Friday after police found her covered in blood on the back porch of her house.

She reportedly confessed to shooting son Beau and then daughter Calyx the previous day because they ‘talked back’ and said she was tired of putting up with their lack of respect.

An arrest affidavit said Schenecker shot her son twice in the head 'for talking back' as she drove him to football practice. His body was found in a sports utility vehicle in the garage.

She then drove home, went inside and shot her daughter in the back of the head as she sat doing her homework, before shooting her again in the face, the affidavit said.

Her husband rushed home from Qatar where he was on assignment upon hearing of the tragedy.

At their funeral on Tuesday he said: 'As I mourn the loss of my two children, my dearly beloved children, I'm comforted that they have been welcomed on the other side and heaven is rejoicing at their coming.

'Today, we celebrate the way they lived and I will spend the rest of my time doing just that.'

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Cases of mothers killing their teenage kids are extremely rare. So why did Julie Schenecker allegedly shoot her two exemplary, well-liked teens—seemingly out of the blue?

A certain amount of turmoil exists in every family—especially those with headstrong teenagers. But what caused one family's turmoil to turn violent, leaving two teenagers dead with gunshots to the head inflicted by their own mother, police say, is the troubling question at the heart of the story of Julie Schenecker.

Officers arrived at the Schenecker home, a beige, two-story house in a tidy neighborhood of Tampa, Florida, on January 28. They were concerned for the 50-year-old former Army linguist's well-being after her mother had called from Texas, worried because she could not reach her daughter and because, she said, her daughter was depressed. The officers arrived at 7:45 a.m. and discovered Julie unconscious in a screened pool area behind the house, a notepad, water bottle, cigarette butts and lighter nearby, according to a search warrant report. The officers revived her, took her inside and sat her at a table, where they noticed dried blood on her white robe. They found she had no injuries, though, and while one officer stayed with her the other began searching the house, trying to determine the welfare of her children.

What that officer found was 16-year-old Calyx upstairs in bed, a pool of blood around her head and a blanket covering her, according to the report. The teen had no pulse and was cool to the touch. The officers then found 13-year-old Beau in the garage in a van. A blanket covered him, too. Both were dead.

Elsewhere in the house the officers found a Smith & Wesson box and instruction manual, bullets, and spent shell casings. They found medication in the master bedroom and bathroom, and a sticky note in the stairwell issuing a do-not-resuscitate order. Eventually Schenecker would confess, according to an arrest affidavit, that during the previous evening she had fired two bullets into her own son's head herself, using a .38 caliber revolver as the two rode together in the van. Afterward she drove home, parked the van in the garage, and left Beau inside it as she went in the house. She walked up behind her daughter Calyx as she did homework on her computer and fired twice, once into the back of Calyx's head and once into her face. Schenecker is charged with two counts of first-degree murder. She remains jailed.

The kids appeared to be the kind of people parents pray their little ones will grow into as teenagers.

Mothers who kill their children are a tragic and yet perennial news sensation. But those children are nearly always very young, drowned one-by-one in bathtubs, driven into lakes, discarded as infants in trash bins. It is rare for a mother to kill her teenage children, who themselves are nearly adults, says Dr. Walter Afield, a Tampa psychiatrist specializing in evaluating criminal behavior.

"I've been practicing medicine for 50 years, and I haven't seen it in my professional practice," he said.

And the Scheneckers appeared, until recently, to be anything but atypical. They were a military family. Julie's husband Col. Parker Schenecker is a 28-year intelligence officer stationed in Tampa with Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base. Julie herself left the Army years ago. Parker had been deployed in the Middle East for fewer than two weeks when the murders took place. He rushed back to Tampa and has declined interviews but spoke last week at a memorial service honoring Calyx and Beau. Julie Schenecker never was mentioned during the service.

"I can't thank you enough for today's moving, loving memorial for my exceptional children and for your tributes through the past few days," Parker said. "The family and I are humbled by your support, grace, and overwhelming love for Calyx and Beau. They love you, too. Please don't forget how they lived."

Indeed, the kids, according to school officials, appeared to be the kind of people parents pray their little ones will grow into as teenagers. Calyx was a sophomore at King High School. She was "just a terrific child," Carla Bruning, the school's principal, told The Daily Beast. "If you were going to be able to pick traits for your daughter to have, you would have picked her traits, Calyx's traits, because she was just the best." An outstanding student who excelled at cross country, she was outgoing and helped start a school club for Harry Potter enthusiasts. She was also involved in speech and debate, and a program called Relay for Life, helping to raise funds for cancer research.

Beau, for his part, was an eighth-grader at Liberty Middle School, where he, too, was well-liked and an accomplished student, said Jimmy Ammirati, the school's principal. Beau was an enthusiastic soccer player. (A game scheduled for last week was canceled for the memorial service.) Neither Bruning nor Ammirati ever met Julie Schenecker, but neither sensed any unusual family trouble. In fact, on Facebook, the Scheneckers doted on their children. In October, Parker posted a photo of Calyx with her cross-country teammates.
"that's my baby!" Julie wrote under the picture. "doin' something I could never do - 3.2 miles!!"
In September, Julie commented on a friend's post about the friend's daughter, writing, "my soph daughter runs (cross country) too. I know how proud od (sic) her you must be. I think it's the hardest sport ever!!"

But recently, for reasons that remain unclear, discord appears to have crept into the happy suburban home. In November, officers visited the house after Calyx told a Children's Crisis Center counselor that her mom had hit her in the face. Calyx and her mom had been in counseling at the center for about three weeks because Calyx had grown verbally abusive toward her mom, according to a police report. The young girl had told her mom "you're disgusting" and "you're not my parent," and Julie admitted she had hit her daughter multiple times in the face because Calyx no longer responded to losing her privileges. Another previous incident had caused Calyx's mouth to bleed, Calyx said, although Julie said she never saw any blood. Calyx told the officers she regretted what she said. The officers found no evidence of a criminal offense, and the case was cleared.

That same month, Julie was cited for careless driving after rear-ending another vehicle. Both drivers were injured, and Julie "showed signs of drug impairment including dilated pupils with no reaction to light (and) mush-mouthed speech," according to the traffic report. She was taken to a hospital but discharged before an officer could arrive for a blood draw. Hours after her children's murders, Julie was escorted to jail-—caught on video mumbling to herself and shaking uncontrollably. Soon after, she was admitted to Tampa General Hospital, where she was treated for a medical condition that existed before her arrest, said Debbie Carter, spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. She remained in the infirmary after returning to jail, and Carter declined to elaborate on the nature of her medical condition.

How could a mother kill her own children? Schenecker told officers she killed her son "for talking back to her while driving him to soccer practice," according to the arrest affidavit. "The defendant admitted to purchasing the revolver on Saturday 1-22-11. She admitted to planning to murder her children and kill herself afterward."
If Julie Schenecker is mentally ill, an insanity defense will be difficult for her to prove, Afield said. In Florida, defendants must prove they didn't know right from wrong. Afield said no one knows why Julie Schenecker killed her children, except Julie Schenecker.

"We all get angry sometimes and say, 'God, I'd love to kill my kids,' but we don't act on those feelings. An awful lot of people have that, and most of us have difficulties with our parents. That doesn't mean we're crazy and we go out and kill people," he said. "We all want an answer because it hits home with us... The bottom line is we do not know what goes on behind closed doors in any family."

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"The bottom line is we do not know what goes on behind closed doors in any family."
Many of us have lived through that statement and know it is true.

February 16, 2011 11:36 AM


(CBS/AP) Julie Powers Schenecker made a brief appearance in a Florida court room Wednesday to plead not guilty to the Jan. 27 shooting deaths of her 13-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter.

According to an arrest affidavit, Schenecker shot her son Beau in the head twice "for talking back" while they were in the family car on their way to his soccer practice. The report said Schenecker then returned to their upscale home and shot her daughter Calyx in the face while the girl studied at her computer.

Heavy security was in the Tampa courtroom Wednesday morning as Schenecker, dressed in a red jail outfit, sat with her hands shackled in front of her.

The Hillsborough County grand jury formally charged her with two counts of premeditated first-degree murder Feb. 10. If convicted, Schenecker could face the death penalty.

Authorities say the 50-year-old Tampa mother bought a .38-caliber revolver the weekend before the Jan. 27 shootings and apparently wrote a note prior to the shootings in which she referred to her plan as a "massacre."

Assistant Public Defender Robert Frasier said Wednesday he intends to file a motion to freeze the family's assets until they can figure out who will pay for Schenecker's defense.

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This mother is SO guilty and I believe she is literally insane.

Insult to injury that her husband has to pay for the defense of the Woman who killed his kids.

Father of Slain Tampa Teens: 'My Wife Suffered from Clinical Depression'

Colonel Parker Schenecker was deployed with the Army in Qatar when he got the unthinkable news: his children – Calyx, 16, and Beau, 13 – had been shot to death, allegedly at the hands of their mother, Julie.

Since the shootings, Schenecker has struggled to move forward from the tragedy.

He also has not given any interviews about the crime, but agreed to talk with PEOPLE as a way to honor his children and to set the record straight. Sitting in the living room of his home, just a few feet from where his children were found, Parker Schenecker, 48, explains how Julie's depression led to the unthinkable crime.

"We were a typical American family," he says, "but we had a sick member."

Schenecker says that his wife had suffered from depression since before they were married. "It was a chronic mental illness that we've been dealing with for 20 years in the family," he says, "I never had any indication that she would harm the children, or that she would ever think of taking the children's lives. It was absolutely incredible when I found out she did."

In early January, Schenecker followed military orders to spend two weeks in the Middle East. "I didn't have a choice," he explains. "If I don't do my job, I get fired. I get put in jail."

Although Julie Schenecker was treated for depression and bipolar disorder, she did not share the details of her treatments with her family. "Because of HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act] laws, I had no access to her medical records at all," he explains. "I didn't know what was going on."

After he suspected that Julie had substance abuse issues last November, Schenecker convinced her to check into inpatient rehab. "I did everything I could think of to do," he says.

Three months after the killings, Schenecker still tears up as he remembers Calyx and Beau, whom he calls "typical American kids living exceptional lives." The home remains full of constant remembrances of the teens: Calyx's artwork and Beau's soccer trophies.

"They make me miss my kids more every single day," he says. As for his relationship with Julie – whom he is divorcing, Schenecker says: "I don't hate Julie. I feel for her. I'm going through my hell; she's going through her own hell."

For Schenecker's full interview – including never-before-seen family pictures – pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday
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A judge has granted an immediate divorce to the husband of a Tampa woman accused of killing their two teenage children.
Hillsborough Circuit Court judge gave Army Col. Parker Schenecker the instant divorce Thursday from his wife Julie. The 50-year-old mom is accused of killing their 16-year-old daughter Calyx and 13-year-old son Beau by shooting them in the head in January.
Julie Schenecker's attorneys said she did not oppose it.
Another judge retained jurisdiction over the couple's assets, estimated at $2 million. Another hearing set for Friday on Julie Schenecker's request for release of $200,000 in assets plus about $50,000 for legal expenses was canceled.
The next hearing about the division of assets was set for July 6.
Parker Schenecker has said his wife had been treated for mental illness.

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estimated at $2 million

Just goes to show that money does not buy happiness!

Drugs taken from mom accused of killing Fla. teens

Newly released court documents say at least 14 different prescription drug bottles were found in the Tampa home of a 50-year-old woman accused of killing her two teenagers in January.
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My goodness, no wonder she looked so messed up. She was out of her mind on pills! Oxycodone, hydrocodone and anti-depressants...looks to me like she was "doctor shopping".

I feel so sorry for her husband! And, drugs or no drugs, I will Never understand how she could have killed her children (teens) in cold blood.

She has Got to be insane!

Don't forget the lithium. I wonder what's in these doctors heads when they prescribe such combinations of drugs. I can't even begin to imagine what the husband/dad is going thru'! I agree w/ you thou' no way can I understand how she was able to kill her children.

Lithium says it all. This woman is mentally ill. Not necessarily insane, but definitely sick.

By Anna Phillips, Times Staff Writer
Monday, April 28, 2014 9:37am

TAMPA — Jury selection began Monday in the murder trial of Julie Schenecker, the New Tampa woman accused of killing her two teenage children in 2011.

Selecting a jury is expected to take several days, as prosecutors and defense attorneys evaluate more than 100 potential jurors. Both sides will be looking for people with minimal or no exposure to the extensive coverage of the killing in the local and national media.

Circuit Court Judge Emmett L. Battles has set aside three weeks for the trial. By the noon recess, prosecutors and defense attorneys had questioned just four prospective jurors and excused one of them.

For Schenecker, 53, the trial will decide whether she spends the rest of her life in prison, or is placed in a state psychiatric facility and periodically evaluated for release.

Prosecutors initially planned to seek the death penalty, a decision they abandoned a month ago. A spokesman for the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office said at the time that Schenecker's severe mental health issues made it seem unlikely that Florida's Supreme Court would uphold a death sentence.

Defense attorneys say that Schenecker is not guilty by reason of insanity. She suffers from bipolar disorder and has been treated for extreme depression for years.

For jurors to find Schenecker criminally insane, her attorneys will have to convince them that she either didn't know what she was doing, or if she did, she didn't understand it was wrong.

As in most trials involving the insanity defense, this will be a battle of the experts. Both sides have retained forensic psychologists to testify on Schenecker's state of mind on Jan. 27, 2011 when, police say, she fatally shot 16-year-old Calyx and 13-year-old Beau.

To bolster their argument that she planned to harm her children, prosecutors are likely to use the fact that Schenecker bought a revolver days before the murders. Police have said she wrote in a note that the mandatory three-day waiting period would "delay the massacre." Afterwards, she told police she was tired of her children talking back.

Though she comes from a middle class background and lived a comfortable life married to an Army colonel, Schenecker's defense is being paid for by the state. It's an unusual arrangement, as public defenders typically work for the poor. But Schenecker's finances are complicated by her husband's decision to file for divorce after the children's deaths, effectively cutting her off from the family assets.

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above link must see...

Jury selection is underway, and proving to be a challenge in the double-murder trial of New Tampa mom Julie Schenecker.

Eric Glasser, WTSP

Tampa, FL -- Jury selection is underway in the 2011 case of a New Tampa mother accused of murdering her two children.

Julie Schenecker, 53, is charged with shooting 16-year-old Calyx and her younger brother, 13-year-old Beau while their father Army Col. Parker Schenecker was serving overseas in Qatar.

Speculation that a plea deal might be reached was quickly doused, as both prosecution and defense told the court there is no deal on the table. The judge then explained to Schenecker the gravity of the charges, and that if convicted, she might spend the rest of her life in prison.

Selecting a jury for the highly-emotional case is proving to be challenging. With the death penalty off the table and no last-minute plea deal reached, jury selection got underway on Monday morning.

Ms. Schenecker appeared calm in court, appearing calm, even smiling occasionally. She was dressed in a gray suit and surrounded by her attorneys.

It was a far cry from the image of Schenecker the day of her arrest in January 2011, when she was dressed in a white jumpsuit, escorted by police as she trembled uncontrollably.

Schenecker answered clearly when the judge asked her questions.

"You shall not be eligible for parole, you understand that?" asked Circuit Judge Emmett Battles.

"I do, your honor," answered Schenecker.

Parker Schenecker sat silently in court watching the jury selection process.

The challenge may be to find a panel of 12 jurors and four alternates who haven't formed an opinion about the case.

"There's no doubt in my mind that she shot her children, and that she's guilty of that crime," said prospective Juror 20, who was ultimately dismissed. "It may not be first degree murder, but this is a first degree murder trial," he said.

When asked to stand if they had at least heard something about the case before today, nearly nine out of 10 prospective jurors got up.

With the trial estimated to take three weeks, several jurors also told the court that serving would create a personal or financial hardship: a man caring for his elderly father; an out-of-work laborer searching for a job; a woman planning a wedding and closing on a new home in the coming days.

Julie Schenecker's defense will likely hinge on an insanity defense, and so jurors who make it past the initial phase will also probably face personal questions about issues regarding mental illness.

The jury selection is expected to take three days. The trial is expected to last three weeks.

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very good video above.

Jury selection going slow in Julie Schenecker murder trial
By Anna Phillips, Times Staff Writer

TAMPA — Photos of Julie Schenecker have been splashed across newspapers' front pages, highlighted on the evening news, and coated in gloss in national magazines.

On Monday, the first day of jury selection in Schenecker's double murder trial, her near-ubiquity was more than a mild annoyance for the attorneys working on her case. By the day's end, more than 20 people out of a pool of 50 prospective jurors were excused from duty. Most of them readily admitted their views had been shaped by news reports.

"Just from what I've seen in the news … I would have been under the impression she was guilty," said the first juror to come before attorneys for questioning. "I already have that mentality."

Going juror by juror, attorneys questioned 35 people, trying to weed out bias. Another 50 will be added to the pool today. If that still is not sufficient, more will be summoned, Circuit Judge Emmett L. Battles said.

Once prosecutors and defense attorneys agree on a group of people selected from the initial pool, a second round of more detailed questioning will begin. The process could fill the entire first week of what's expected to be a three-week trial.

Schenecker's case has been the subject of heightened media scrutiny since her arrest in 2011, when she was charged with killing her 16-year-old daughter, Calyx, and her son Beau, 13, at their New Tampa home. Video footage and photographs of her emerging from the Tampa Police Department headquarters, shaking and supported by deputies, have defined her to many in the Tampa Bay area.

As Schenecker's parents and ex-husband looked on from the gallery, most jurors told attorneys they already believed her to be guilty, and would have a difficult, if not impossible, time keeping an open mind. Several said they thought she was likely mentally ill.

"It would take a lot to convince me that she was not guilty," said a Hillsborough County middle school teacher and mother of four, who attorneys ultimately decided to send back to her classroom.

"I wouldn't even feel bad if they went for the death penalty," said an older man who works for a private security company. He, too, was excused.

He said this just feet away from Schenecker, 53, who seemed to barely register either her family or the prospective jurors' presence. Dressed in a gray suit and a black sweater, she looked somber, far from the wild-eyed woman who was led out of Tampa police headquarters in handcuffs three years ago.

As several prospective jurors noted during questioning, Schenecker's trial does not center around the question of whether she killed her children on Jan. 27, 2011.

By invoking the insanity defense, her attorneys have essentially acknowledged that she committed the crime, though without any understanding of her actions.

Prosecutors, who are seeking a life sentence, will likely argue though she may have been mentally ill, Schenecker plotted her children's murders.

"The question is, was she capable of knowing better?" said juror number 31. "In that regard, she is innocent until proven guilty."

She was dismissed.

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video above link.

Anna M. Phillips, Times Staff Writer
Friday, May 2, 2014 6:23pm

TAMPA — The strawberry farmer and divorced father of three was in. So, too, was the man who said he was one credit away from a degree in criminal justice.

After five days of painstaking questioning by attorneys, a jury was seated Friday for the trial of Julie Schenecker, the New Tampa woman accused of murdering her two teenage children in 2011.

The jurors will decide whether Schenecker, 53, knowingly plotted to kill her children or was insane at the time, unable to tell right from wrong. She faces two counts of first-degree murder, a charge that carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Her trial begins Monday morning and is expected to last two weeks. Defense attorneys are planning to mount an insanity defense.

Schenecker's fate rests in the hands of an eclectic jury. The 12 jurors and four alternates include seven women and nine men, three of whom are African-American. About half of the jurors have children.

Within the group is a grandmother who draws patients' blood at a local hospital, a Hills­borough Area Regional Transit bus driver with a daughter, and a U.S. Postal Service worker who told attorneys: "I firmly believe in the insanity defense."

The former military man who said he couldn't bring himself to declare someone not guilty by reason of insanity was excused. So was the man who'd grown up in Chicago, "where there's nothing but violence," and couldn't bear to look at photographs of the victims.

To find potential jurors who hadn't been exposed to the heavy media coverage the case had received, about 250 people were sent summonses. Attorneys grilled them repeatedly, trying to gauge what they thought about mental illness and whether they could endorse an insanity defense, if the evidence supported it. Prospective jurors were also asked if they owned guns and if they were familiar with Florida's laws regulating firearm purchases.

Twice, they were asked whether they could be fair to Schenecker, knowing the victims in the case were a 16-year-old and a 13-year-old.

The question made two female jurors cry Thursday. They were excused, as were countless others, many of them parents who admitted they couldn't be impartial. Still others were sent home after they told attorneys that, based on what they'd seen on television or read in the newspaper, they believed Schenecker was guilty.

Police say Schenecker shot her son, Beau, in the family's van after taking him home from soccer practice. She's accused of shooting her daughter, Calyx, in the head while the girl was working on her homework upstairs in the family's home.

Fueling the prosecution's claim that she planned the murders, police say Schenecker bought a revolver days before the children were killed, returning after the three-day mandatory waiting period to pick it up. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.

Previously released evidence has painted a partial picture of Schenecker's struggles with depression and bipolar disorder. A fuller understanding will likely emerge at the trial — both sides have retained psychologists to testify on her state of mind.

Though many of the jurors chosen for the trial told attorneys they could support an insanity defense, some were less definitive.

Said one man: "Just because you're mentally ill doesn't mean you have to commit a crime."

As the selection process came to a close and the agreed-upon jurors' numbers were read aloud, the judge asked Schenecker if she was satisfied.

"Very," she said.

In the courtroom

Coming Monday: Tampabay.com will have live video of the Julie Schenecker trial.

On Twitter: For trial updates, follow @TBTimesLive.

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I have been waiting for this womans trial since the night I saw her arrested on TV. I wonder what caused her to shake and walk like that after arrest? Wow she must have been completely crazy to do what she did. I bet she gets off on diminished capacity or insanity, or something.

Anna M. Phillips, Times Staff Writer
Monday, May 5, 2014 8:45am

TAMPA — As the trial of Julie Schenecker got under way on Monday, prosecutors depicted the New Tampa mother accused of killing her children as an enraged woman who vented her frustrations on her family.

"She was angry," prosecutor Stephen Udagawa said in his opening statement. Schenecker and her 16-year-old daughter Calyx were fighting constantly and she thought her 13-year-old son Beau was beginning to talk back as well. Her husband, Parker Schenecker, had sent an email to her family that she wasn't allowed to see. She suspected he wanted a divorce.

"So now this is in her mind," Udagawa said. "My daughter doesn't like me. … My husband has turned against me, and the son is starting to follow the daughter's behavior."

Attorneys for Schenecker said her story was "a tale of two mothers."

She wanted to have six children, but had two, limited by her husband's decision to get a vasectomy. She'd left a successful career in the military to raise them and seemed, by all appearances, to be devoted to them, defense attorney Jennifer Spradley said.

But there was another side to Schenecker, one gripped by bipolar disorder and severe depression, she said. This mother shot each of her children once in the head, and then once in the mouth, because they were "mouthy." This mother tucked her dead teenagers into bed, where police found them.

Schenecker, Spradley said, is "a mother and a former soldier who lost her battle with her chronic mental illness that took everything from her, including her children."

Schenecker, 53, faces two counts of first-degree murder. Tampa police say she shot Beau in the family's van after taking him home from soccer practice on Jan. 27, 2011. She's accused of shooting Calyx while the girl was working on her homework upstairs in the family's home.

Her attorneys are using an insanity defense, meaning jurors will decide whether Schenecker knowingly plotted to kill her children or was unable to tell right from wrong.

If convicted, Schenecker faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Her trial is expected to last two weeks.

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video's of opening statements..above link.

Dr. Drew w/also be talking about this tonight as I would imagine JVM and NG will.

Schenecker Trial: Julie Schenecker
Posted: Apr 27, 2014 7:51 AM EDT
Updated: Apr 27, 2014 9:14 AM EDT
By Josh Green - bio | email

Julie Schenecker is on trial for the murder of her son, Beau, and daughter, Calyx

TAMPA, FL (WFLA) -
Julie Schenecker was born Julie Powers on January 13, 1961. She was 50 when police arrested her for the murder of her children.

She had a decade-long military career as a Russian linguist and interrogator. In the 80s she met her former husband and father of her children, Parker Schenecker, while they were both serving in Germany. They married in 1991.

Court documents said at some point in 1992, she was first diagnosed with depression and a psychiatrist treated her with medication.

From 1997-2001, she was on medicine for depression on a daily basis, except for brief periods while she was pregnant and nursing her children.

In 2001, Schenecker suffered a severe and debilitating episode of depression and was hospitalized for nine months at the National Institute of Health, according to the documents. Parker hired a nanny and his mother moved in to help with the children.

In 2001, Schenecker was diagnosed with severe depression, bi-polar disorder and schizoaffective disorder, described by the Mayo Clinic as one in which a person experiences a combination of schizophrenia symptoms like hallucinations or delusions and mood disorder symptoms like mania or depression.

Four years later (from 2005 to 2006) Schenecker went through a manic phase for six months and refused to take her medicine. At one point, Parker took her to Walter Reed Hospital for treatment, according to the documents, and she started taking medicine and seeing psychiatrists again.

But in the fall of 2010, something went wrong. She fell into a severe depression. Her attorneys in her divorce settlement said she began to pull away from friends and family and started to undergo a series of surgeries that resulted in her addiction to pain killers.

Parker refused to let Julie drive the car with her children, according to the documents. On November 8, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. though, she got into a car accident. Documents claim she was under the influence of pain killers at the time.

Parker sent her to a local hotel, according to documents. He then drove her to a substance abuse center in Clearwater. She was there for 21 days.

From November 2010 until late January 2011, she was back at home, in bed virtually all of the time, and was still abusing alcohol and pain killers, according to documents. She said she had virtually no contact with her friends and family; no interaction with Parker or the kids; and spent 20 hours in bed each day.

Tampa Police have always said it was an email from Julie Schenecker's mother that led police to her New Tampa home on January 28, 2011.

On Thursday, January 27 at 8:54 p.m., Schenecker sent that email to her mother, father, brother and sister. It was disjointed and contained typos.

Schenecker starts her email by saying, "you;'ve [sic] always been there for me. Giving support and guide,ce [sic] that i've need [sic]" She goes on to say she couldn't have lived 50 years without it.

Later, Schenecker talks about her children, and in the middle of it types a chilling sentence.

"some day i'll get to all the answers. It's really difficult and i'm so sickmentally-i do the jobsviv{e  to do I minimally take of the kids.ksadly to sad. beaus has aslo developed calyx's attitde=makes me cry evening. seeingwhat they've become. as far as a 180from their former daring selves. i will end this soon. though I am at my wits end parker shold be without his mom here...that is not wits end until you taken on dinner and carpooling before and after sports. conflicts of games...etc"

Her mother forwarded the email to Schenecker's husband, Parker, who was serving in U.S. Army intelligence in Qatar at the time.

"Have tried to call Julie on both home & cell," she writes. "Also Beau & sent Beau a text to call me right now. Very concerned about Julie."

She called police to do a welfare check and at 7:39 a.m. on January 28, they found the bodies of the two children.

When police took her in for questioning after the murders, she told detectives she was taking Abilify.

In a pretrial hearing, Tampa police detective Sonja McCaughey testified Schenecker made a chilling statement while she was watching her in a holding cell the day of her arrest.

"I shot them," McCaughey remembers Schenecker saying. "I was going to shoot myself, but I fell asleep."

Schenecker is pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. Prosecutors were asking for the death penalty, but three years after the murders reversed that decision. Less than a month before the trial, they announced they were seeking life in prison without parole instead.

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I believe this was pre-meditated. Do I think she is mentally ill? Definitely. However, I don't think spending the rest of her life in prison is the answer. She's better off in a mental facility for the rest of her life. One part of me feels sorry for her and the other part doesn't.

The jury has a tough call on their hands.

Julie Schenecker Trial: Why Would a Mom Kill Her Kids?
By STEVE HELLING
05/06/2014 at 09:50 AM EDT

Julie Schenecker sat motionless in court on Monday as she was confronted with her own words, written in a
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must-read link above.. the day after she killed her two teenage children.

"I was planning a Saturday massacre," she wrote, "but had to wait on the waiting period…I offed Beau on the way to practice. There was a shot to his mouth, because he became so mouthy, just like Calyx. Calyx drove me to drink."

The onetime soccer mom, 53, now looks a decade older than in 2011, when she shot 16-year-old daughter Calyx and 13-year-old son Beau in their upscale Tampa neighborhood. Gone are the skinny jeans and blonde highlights, replaced with a fuchsia and black pantsuit, thick eyeglasses, and brown hair tied up in a loose bun.

Opening statements began Monday in the Tampa, Florida, courtroom in Schenecker's murder trial with the prosecution's dramatic reading from her diary. Since both sides agree that she pulled the trigger, the jury must decide the critical question of why she did it.

Was it, as prosecutors allege, a calculated murder by a narcissist whose marriage was crumbling? Or was she, as the defense contends, a bipolar woman whose mental illness finally got the better of her?

Either way, the trial promises to be a gut-wrenching ordeal. "It has been a long, long road to get to today," her ex-husband, Parker Schenecker, said before opening statements began. "Today and for the next couple of weeks, the focus is really on hearing Calyx and Beau's voices."

A Planned Pair of Killings?
On a sunny Saturday in January 2011, Schenecker took her son to soccer practice. After leaving the field, Schenecker – who had spent 10 years in the military – drove 40 miles to a gun store where she selected a .38 revolver and hollow point bullets. Appearing pleasant and relaxed, Schenecker chatted amiably with the clerk.

For the next few days, Schenecker's life seemed normal. She drove her children to school and made their favorite dinners. She sent breezy emails to her family, including Parker, an Army colonel who was deployed to Qatar. But then, after the mandatory five-day waiting period was over, she used the gun to kill her two children. When the children were dead, she put a Post-it note on the door, telling the people from her carpool group that the family had gone on a trip to New York.

Both the prosecution and defense agree that Schenecker shot Beau twice in the head while driving him to soccer practice. Returning home, she found Calyx doing homework on the family computer. She shot her daughter once in the back of the head, and again in the mouth. When police found Schenecker the next day, she was lying on her patio wearing a bloodstained white robe; her breath smelled of alcohol.

In laying out the case against Schenecker, prosecutors allege the killings were planned. "She had a bad relationship with her husband and a bad relationship with her children," prosecutor Stephen Udagawa told the jury. "She was angry. She perceived her husband wanted a divorce. She was calculated."

In the journal, she addresses her ex-husband: "I could have done this anytime, even when you were here," she wrote. "I might have taken you out, too. That would be a crying shame."

As Udagawa read from Schenecker's journal, the 12 jurors and four alternates listened with rapt attention. They stared at Schenecker, but she would not meet their gaze.

Judge Emmett Battles had informed the jury that Schenecker was on "psychotropic drugs" and that they were not to allow her demeanor to shape their verdicts.

Insanity Defense
And when defense attorney Jennifer Spradley addressed the jury, she focused on Schenecker's mental state, but had a decidedly different take than the prosecution. "This is a tale of two mothers," she told jurors. "She was sick. She battled depression. The disease transformed Ms. Schenecker's life."

Spradley presented some surprises, causing a few of the jurors to take notes. "She was molested at 6 years old, and she testified in the trial," she said. "She was again sexually assaulted at age 17. She left the military after 10 years because depression was kicking in and because she wanted to start a family. She wanted to have six children, but Parker wanted to have two. After Beau was born, Parker had a vasectomy; she always wanted to have more children."

"It tore her to her soul," continued Spradley. "A mother and former soldier lost her battle with chronic mental illness. It took everything from her, including her children."

Schenecker faces two counts of first-degree murder. If she is convicted, she faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Her trial is expected to last two weeks.

Parker Schenecker told PEOPLE in 2011 that the family had been dealing with her illness for more than 20 years. "My wife suffered from clinical depression," he said at the time.

But to use the insanity defense, her lawyers have to prove more than depression. They have to convince the jury that Schenecker didn't know right from wrong at the time of the killings, usually a difficult task in trials and particularly in this one. Immediately after the shooting, Schenecker told police, "This is the worst thing I've ever done. I feel just horrible."

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Father of Slain Tampa Teens: 'My Wife Suffered from Clinical Depression'
By STEVE HELLING
04/20/2011 at 07:15 PM EDT

Colonel Parker Schenecker was deployed with the Army in Qatar when he got the unthinkable news: his children – Calyx, 16, and Beau, 13 – had been shot to death, allegedly at the hands of their mother, Julie.

Since the shootings, Schenecker has struggled to move forward from the tragedy.

He also has not given any interviews about the crime, but agreed to talk with PEOPLE as a way to honor his children and to set the record straight. Sitting in the living room of his home, just a few feet from where his children were found, Parker Schenecker, 48, explains how Julie's depression led to the unthinkable crime.

"We were a typical American family," he says, "but we had a sick member."

Schenecker says that his wife had suffered from depression since before they were married. "It was a chronic mental illness that we've been dealing with for 20 years in the family," he says, "I never had any indication that she would harm the children, or that she would ever think of taking the children's lives. It was absolutely incredible when I found out she did."

In early January, Schenecker followed military orders to spend two weeks in the Middle East. "I didn't have a choice," he explains. "If I don't do my job, I get fired. I get put in jail."

Although Julie Schenecker was treated for depression and bipolar disorder, she did not share the details of her treatments with her family. "Because of HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act] laws, I had no access to her medical records at all," he explains. "I didn't know what was going on."

After he suspected that Julie had substance abuse issues last November, Schenecker convinced her to check into inpatient rehab. "I did everything I could think of to do," he says.

Three months after the killings, Schenecker still tears up as he remembers Calyx and Beau, whom he calls "typical American kids living exceptional lives." The home remains full of constant remembrances of the teens: Calyx's artwork and Beau's soccer trophies.

"They make me miss my kids more every single day," he says. As for his relationship with Julie – whom he is divorcing, Schenecker says: "I don't hate Julie. I feel for her. I'm going through my hell; she's going through her own hell."

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Schenecker trial: More journal notes revealed
Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. - Day two of testimony is underway in the Julie Schenecker murder trial.

>Watch the trial live on Action News Now (testimony resumes at 1:45PM): [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The second day began with the continuation of testimony from the Tampa Police Department's crime scene technician, Matthew Evans, reading photographs of the handwritten notes in Schenecker's journal.

In the notes, Schenecker referenced her depression and her medication usage. "The meds never kicked in," she wrote. "Might have made a difference."

Schenecker wrote that she should have gone into the psych ward instead of being treated for alcohol or drug abuse. "I believe my brain is trashed," she wrote. She also wrote that no one came to help when she was in her room for seven weeks and that her former husband, Parker Schenecker, never taught the children compassion.

The notes became more difficult to read as the journaling continued, indicating that Schenecker was under the influence while she wrote.

"I don't think I could ever... recover or make up for my failures over the years," Evans continued to read. The notes show that Schenecker planned to take her own life by pills, carbon monoxide, and a gun, or a combination of the three. "I don't want to be saved, I'm ready to die," she wrote.

The chilling last words written in the journal were, "Take us home, Lord."

Monday was the first day in the trial of Julie Schenecker, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to two counts of first-degree murder. Police say Schenecker fatally shot her teenagers in January 2011 while then-husband was deployed overseas.

The trial began Monday. After prosecutors and attorneys gave opening statements, a crime scene technician told the court about notes and journal entries found in the house, including a sticky note on a calendar that detailed where the teens' bodies were.

Schenecker's attorneys say their client was profoundly mentally ill and they plan to use an insanity defense.

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Interesting video above link.

Wow this woman had multiple problems going on, plus the alcohol added to her drug use. Wonder if her doc wrote her scripts for both oxycodone and hydrocodone? It should have been one or the other, not both. Irresponsible prescription drug practices like two pain meds, well if she got both from same doc, that's not cool. Maybe she was a doc-shopper to get what she wanted.?
I heard that whenever she thinks shes on camera she shakes, otherwise there is no shaking. If that's true, then its disturbing. She knew right from wrong after she killed the kids. Insanity would be a travesty. JMO

Where did you hear she only shakes on camera? I would love a link. I tend to agree w/you...

I think she was doc shopping. Florida has pretty strict rules on that but don't think they were in place back when she offed her kids.

It's VERY apparent by her own journal(s) this was pre-meditated. I also think she's mentally ill. Insane? NO!! There's a difference. MOO.

ITA. I heard that comment about the shaking last night on JVM, NG, or Dr Phil. I watched all three to see what they would say about this case. So no link but just keep that stored in your memory somewhere so you can watch her for shaking during the trial. It may be a false statement (probably if it was false, it was from NG's show, LOL) for all I know.

Yes she is mentally ill, not insane and not criminally insane. She's on meds now I presume for her condition (s). She looks like an old lady now compared to when she was arrested. Wow.