Katie 
Ambridge, Pennsylvania: Krisinda A. Bright was arrested in February after police responded to her 911 call stating that she had shot and killed her two children. On Wednesday, she was arraigned on charges of first-degree murder to which she has plead not guilty.
The Beaver County District Attorney announced that they will pursue the death sentence should Bright be convicted of the charges despite the fact that Governor Tom Wolf placed a moratorium on the death penalty in 2015.
District Attorney David Lozier explained that they decided to pursue the death penalty despite the moratorium due to the aggravating factors they found present in the case.
Bright had not only made statements to the 911 dispatcher, but also made a "very conscious and knowing statement" voluntarily, in writing at the police station.
"That [statement] we were aware of, and we were aware informally of the psychiatric history, but it did not appear to alter whether she was aware of what she was doing and planning," Lozier explained.
The Post-Gazette revealed that audio recordings played in court revealed Bright telling the 911 dispatcher that she had killed her children because she was "protecting them." According to the call, she feared that custody of one child would be taken from her and that the other would be put into a mental health facility due to an unspecified condition.
During testimony, detectives working the case revealed that Bright was a military veteran. She had allegedly told the officers that she was seeking treatment at the Veterans Affairs hospital for depression and social anxiety but that she had stopped taking her medication several weeks prior.
Bright's trial date has been scheduled for January 19.
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