A 29-year-old woman has been sentenced to 130 years for the murders of two children that occurred years apart after police found incriminating internet searches on her phone.
Stephany Elizabeth Bilecki, formerly LaFountain, of Fairbanks, Alaska, pled guilty to two counts of second-degree murder for the deaths that occurred in 2015 and 2017.
According to a law enforcement, police found incriminating internet searches on Bilecki's phone that included:
- "ways to sufficate" [sic]
- "ways to kill a human with no proof"
- "drugs that can kill ppl with no trase" [sic]
- "can drowning show in an o autopsy report" [sic]
- "16 steps to kill someone and not get caught"
Police stated that some of the searches were made within an hour of Bilecki calling 911 for the 2017 death. In that case, Bilecki first attempted to call her husband, who was militarily deployed. She then called her in-laws to report that her 13-month-old daughter, Jasmine, was not breathing. The in-laws drove to Bilecki's home and Bilecki eventually called 911 just before their arrival, police stated.
Previously, in 2015, Bilecki's 4-month-old daughter Chyanne had died in what authorities initially believed to be a case of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
In that case, Bilecki called her boyfriend and then her mother to tell them Chyanne was dead. About ten minutes later, just before her mother arrived, Bilecki called 911. Police said that Chyanne was otherwise healthy, and the death was presumed to be SIDS. Later investigation revealed minor injuries consistent with suffocation.
"The conduct forming the basis of defendant Bilecki's convictions shocks the conscience," said Fairbanks District Attorney Joe Dallaire. "Although we cannot pretend that anything will ever make up for the losses suffered by the fathers of these babies or their other family members, I do hope the convictions and the sentences imposed afford some measure of justice to the families of Jasmine and Chyanne and to the Fairbanks community at large."
Superior Court Judge Patrica Haines imposed the sentencing provisions requested by prosecutors. Bilecki received 65 years with 40 suspended for each count, for a total of 130 years with 85 suspended, and the maximum period of probation of 10 years.
