Oklahoma mom of 2 kids who drowned after wandering off pleads guilty to child neglect
The children were last seen alive holding hands and walking alone toward a creek
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An Oklahoma woman whose two children drowned last year after wandering off from their apartment has pleaded guilty to charges of child neglect.
Donisha Willis, 24, took a plea deal Monday that reduced the charges from second-degree murder counts in the May 2020 deaths of her two children, 3-year-old Miracle Crook and 21-month-old Tony Crook Jr., according to court records. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
FLASHBACK: OKLAHOMA POLICE SEARCH FOR KIDS, 3 AND 2, MISSING FOR DAYS; MOTHER ARRESTED
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Willis also pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer after kicking an investigator while she was being questioned, and will serve a concurrent five-year sentence.
Willis accepted an agreement with prosecutors Monday in which two second-degree murder charges for the deaths of 3-year-old Miracle Crook and 21-month-old Tony Crook Jr. were reduced to child neglect, according to court records. (Tulsa Police Department)
"Donisha and her family are completely heartbroken by the tragic deaths of Miracle and Tony Jr. last year," public defender Corbin Brewster told the Tulsa World, adding: "Donisha’s plea closed the case."
Willis, who did not have custody of the children, broke into an apartment where the children were staying with a caretaker, police said. The caretaker left the apartment and later returned with the legal guardian to find Willis passed out on a couch and the children missing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The bodies of Miracle and Tony Crook were recovered from the water days after going missing on May 22. (Tulsa Police Department)
The disappearance of the Miracle and Tony set off an exhaustive multi-day search in Tulsa. Police have said Willis did not cooperate with investigators in the search for her missing children.
Search efforts were focused on the creek after surveillance video showed the siblings holding hands and walking alone toward the water. (Tulsa Police Department)
Miracle and Tony were last seen in Tulsa with Willis at a convenience store on the day they disappeared, police said at the time. Investigators said the children were later seen on surveillance video holding hands and walking alone toward a nearby creek that flows into the Arkansas River.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After days of searching, Miracle’s body was found in the river and Tony’s body was recovered in the creek.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.