IRVING, Texas — A Texas woman called 911 from the lobby of the Irving Police Department on Monday night to report that she killed her two young daughters, authorities said.
Madison McDonald, 30, of Irving, was charged with two counts of capital murder of a person under the age of 10, in the deaths of Lillian Mae McDonald, 1, and Archer Hammond, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Irving police spokesperson Officer Robert Reeves said McDonald was “very calm,” when she called to admit sedating her daughters, then tucking them into bed and smothering them, KTVT reported.
According to a probable-cause affidavit, McDonald told officers that her children were being abused and that she would do anything to protect them, including “eliminating them,” the Morning News reported.
“This is a horrific incident where two children were murdered,” Reeves said during a news conference on Tuesday.
Surveillance video shows McDonald at the police headquarters for about 10 minutes, wearing a mask and pacing around calmly before using the lobby telephone, KDFW reported.
McDonald told police that her elder daughter was in the master bedroom and that the younger child was in the spare bedroom at the apartment, the Morning News reported. Officers went to the apartment complex and confirmed that both children were dead, the newspaper reported.
A motive for the girls’ death has yet to be determined, WFAA reported. Officials said the medical examiner will determine the cause of the girls’ deaths, the television station reported.
“We might not ever know the why,” Reeves said during the news conference, “because there’s not going to be a definition or reason that would ever justify the murder of two small children.”
McDonald remains in custody at the Irving jail and will be transferred to the Dallas County Jail, the Morning News reported.
