Woman convicted in double murder wants new trial

TAMPA (FOX 13) - A woman convicted of killing her two children is asking for a new trial.

Julie Schenecker was convicted of killing her two kids, Beau and Caylx and sentenced to life in prison.

Now she says she should be granted a new trial.

In a motion filed by Shenecker, she says her attorneys made mistakes, such as leaving out critical video evidence of her at the hospital after the incident - to show she was insane at the time.

The motion also says jurors appeared to already have their minds made up, as they slept through parts of the trial.

The public's first glimpse of Schenecker was in a now-infamous video taken hours after her arrest, in which she was shaking uncontrollably before being taken to jail.

During her trial, evidence showed Shenecker complained about the waiting period when she bought a gun.

She also kept a diary, in which she listed grievances about her teenage kids.

At her sentencing, however, Schenecker took responsibility for her actions.

"I know I shot my son and daughter. I don't know why," she said, sobbing.

Schenecker maintains she was legally insane at the time of the murder, but attorney Anthony Rickman, who reviewed the case for FOX 13, says there is plenty of evidence to show she knew right from wrong at the time of the murders.

"Her diary spoke differently. Her premeditation and calculations showed differently. The way she killed her children showed differently," explained Rickman.

Rickman says if a judge grants her a hearing on the matter, Schenecker will be brought back to Tampa
to argue her case to the judge. He believes her chances of getting a new trial are not very good.

"I think the judge will deny it and she'll spend the rest of her life in prison," said Rickman.