A Tennessee mother has been accused of smothering and killing her two children with a Lilo & Stitch blanket – and investigators revealed what they believe her motive was.
Jessica Chandler, who was 28 at the time, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder on October 29, 2024, when her husband James came home and found their two children unresponsive.
During a court hearing on Tuesday, Johnson City Police Department (JCPD) Criminal Investigator Michael Fowler shared that Chandler allegedly killed her kids because she could not ‘protect’ them from James.
Fowler said: ‘I think there [were] multiple reasons that came up. One was the previous incident with James and her not being able to protect her children.
‘She explained a lot about her past with her past life experiences. There [were] various contributions.’
Chandler left notes taped to her cabinets, allegedly implicating her in her children’s murders, according to police.
In one of the letters, Chandler detailed an incident involving the sexual assault of her niece by a relative, which made her concerned for her children’s safety.
Fowler read a letter by Chandler in court: ‘I’m not asking you to know my story. I’m asking you to understand my decision. I’ve seen a lot in this lifetime.
Jessica Chandler has been accused of smothering her two young children on October 29, 2024
Chandler appeared in court on tuesday, she was given a $2 million bond and is set to appear again in March
Johnson City Police Department (JCPD) Criminal Investigator Michael Fowler shared letters that Chandler wrote in court
‘I refuse to let my children bear this cruel world alone therefore I brought my children into this world and I’m taking my children out of this world.’
At first, investigators believed that Chandler poisoned her kids Vista, 4, and Eli, 1, because they found empty bottles of Tylenol, Melatonin and NyQuil at the scene, WCYB reported.
But at the recent court hearing, Fowler testified that the autopsy suggested the children died from asphyxiation.
‘She pointed out on the property list that she used a Lilo & Stitch blanket to first suffocate Vista in her bed,’ Fowler said in court, according to WJHL.
Based on letters and the fact that Chandler was found by police in a bathtub with razor blades, investigators believe she was planning on ending her own life.
When she was arrested, police said she waved a knife as the officers and EMS personnel.
On top of her murder charges, Chandler was hit with two counts of aggravated child abuse and two counts of aggravated assault on a first responder.
Gary Price, the officer that responded to Chandler’s when the children were found dead recalled what he saw that day.
Chandler and James pictured on his Facebook page in 2015. In court, Fowler said Chandler referenced James in her reasoning for allegedly killing her children
Officer Gary Price said he found Chandler in a bathtub with razor blades and knives near her
James posted a Facebook tribute to Vista on what would have been her fifth birthday
‘The first thing I saw was a male giving presumably what I would see as CPR to a child in the front yard,’ he said in court.
‘As I approached the male, medical personnel was already there.’
Price said that James told him to go inside to house, where he found Chandler sitting in the tub with cuts on her.
He then noticed the razor blades and utility knives on the edge of the bathtub.
Chandler’s bond was set a $2 million with GPS monitoring restrictions. Her next court date is set for March 31.
According to James’ Facebook page, Vista would have celebrated her fifth birthday on December 7, 2024.
‘Happy birthday Vista Mae. I love you every moment of everyday. Here’s your moon and the stars will be out soon,’ he captioned the photos of the evening sky and flowers on her and Eli’s graves.
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