Romando Dixson

rdixson@greenvillenews.com

PICKENS — A Pickens County jury found a Dacusville woman guilty on all charges in the shooting deaths of her two young children and attempted murder of her husband.

Judge Brian Gibbons said it was probably the worst case he's heard in his 11 years on the bench. He then imposed the harshest sentence possible, sentencing Suzanna "Anna" Brown Simpson to two life sentences on two counts of murder, 30 years on attempted murder and 5 years on possession of a weapon during the commission of violent crime. He imposed the sentences consecutively.

"I cannot imagine a worse scenario than what I've heard here this week," Gibbons said.

The details are chilling.

In the early hours of May 14, 2013, Simpson shot her husband, Michael Simpson, her 5-year-old son, Sawyer Simpson, and her 7-year-old daughter, Carly Simpson. Sawyer died of four gunshot wounds to the head, and Carly died of two gunshot wounds to the head and suffered another wound to the upper back, according to Dr. James Fulcher, a medical examiner.

Michael Simpson survived critical injuries and watched the trial in a wheelchair. He suffers from short-term memory loss and still has a bullet lodged in his head.

"We have two holes in our hearts that can never be filled and will never be forgotten," Allison Simpson, Michael Simpson's mother, said.

Jurors started deliberations Thursday afternoon and returned the verdict in about two hours. They had to decide between four verdicts: not guilty, guilty, guilty but mentally ill or not guilty by reason of insanity.

At one point during deliberations, the jury asked to hear the difference between guilty and guilty but mentally ill. Guilty but mentally ill means she knew the difference between right and wrong, but she couldn't conform her actions to follow the law. Deputy Solicitor Betty Strom told the jury in her closing arguments that mental illness does not equal insanity.

"People walk around every day, working, raising families, doing everything right, doing everything within the law because they're not insane," Strom said.

DAY 1:Defense attorney: Simpson committed "insane, senseless act" in killing children

DAY 2:Mother: "Bizarre" conversations preceded deaths of children

Day 3:Psychologists testify Simpson didn't know right or wrong when she killed her children

Anna Simpson has been diagnosed with ADHD, depression and a bipolar disorder. Examples of paranoia were referenced several times in the trial.

Public Defender John Mauldin described the tragedy as an "insane" and "senseless" act and argued that his client was not guilty by reason of insanity, meaning she didn't know the difference between right and wrong at the time of her actions.

Strom thoroughly refuted that notion in her closing argument. Strom said Simpson knew what she was doing and carried out the slayings in a way that she wouldn't be thwarted.

Not only did the shootings happen in the middle of the night, Simpson put on a head lamp so she could walk around in the dark without turning on any lights.

"Why? You don't want to wake anybody up," Strom said.

Simpson then unlocked a safe with firearms, loaded a .22 caliber handgun, and then went to shoot her husband in the master bedroom.

"She had to kill him first because otherwise he would've stopped her," Strom said.

Simpson then went to get a .40 caliber weapon and shot the children. She told authorities she tried to kill herself but loaded the wrong ammunition into a gun.

"When you want to kill your husband, you load the right bullets," Strom told the jury. "When you want to kill your children, you load the right bullets. When you want to kill yourself, you don't?"

Mauldin said his client had no motive. She didn't want to run off with another man. She didn't kill the children for insurance money.

"Anna was driven by delusion," Mauldin told the jury.

Strom argued that the Simpsons had marital discord and Anna Simpson feared her children would be taken away from her and she would be admitted into mental health facility.

The Solicitor's Office and Mauldin declined comment after the trial.