KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Clay County jury recommended a judge sentence a woman to more than 50 years in prison for the deaths of her two daughters in a hearing Monday.
Jenna Boedecker was found guilty on May 19 of two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of endangering the welfare of a child, domestic assault and property damage in the second degree.
Family members of the two children testified Monday about how the deaths have affected their lives, and two people who knew Boedecker testified for the defense.
The jury recommended the judge sentence Boedecker to 22 years in state prison on each of the two convictions of second-degree murder, according to a spokesperson for the Clay County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
Additionally, the jury recommended sentences of three years each on the first two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and 1 1/2 years each on the other two charges of endangering the welfare of a child.
It was also recommended the judge sentence Boedecker to 9 months in the Clay County Detention Center for misdemeanor convictions of fourth-degree domestic assault and property damage.
The case is nearly 5 years old.
Boedecker told authorities she and her two daughters fell asleep in her Jeep outside their Clay County home on July 3, 2018.
She woke up on the morning of July 4 to find the children, ages 2 and 8 weeks, unresponsive.
KSHB 41 investigator Sarah Plake reported in July 2018 court records stated Boedecker and her husband fought the night before the girls' deaths.
The court documents stated Clay County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to the house the morning of July 4 and found the front door slightly open and the Jeep's windows rolled up.
A hearing on any motion for a new trial and sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 3.
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Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
