Texas mother who drowned her two children sentenced to 40 years

HOUSTON, Texas (KWTX) - A Houston mother who drowned her two children, ages 5 and 7, in 2016 pleaded guilty to two counts of murder on Monday in exchange for 40 years in prison.

Sheborah Latrice Thomas drowned her daughter, 5-year-old Kayiana Thomas, in the bathtub of the family’s home on Aug. 12, 2016, in the 3000 block of Tierwester in southeast Houston.

She put her daughter’s body on a bed, then called her 7-year-old son, Araylon “Ray Ray” Thomas, to the bathroom and drowned him.

A day later, she put the children’s bodies into a trashcan behind the house and went to her job, and tried to get her paycheck early, according to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.

Unable to leave town, she tried to dig a hole for the bodies, but when she couldn’t dig a hole large enough, she rolled the bodies under a neighbor’s house.

“She started packing up her house and throwing things away. She told a friend that she had drowned the children and had to leave town, but he thought it was a joke,” said Ogg. “When he realized she was not joking, he asked more questions and she apparently showed him where the bodies could be found. He then contacted Houston police.”

Assistant District Attorneys James O’Donnell and Sarah Moss prosecuted the case.

“This mother knew what she was doing, she knew it was wrong, and we vowed to seek justice for these two children,” Ogg said. “This plea agreement means that family members will not have to testify and this woman cannot appeal her conviction or the sentence.”