Today (Apr 27) Judge Charles Crawford sentenced RACHAEL LYNN THOMAS, 33 to fifty (50) years in prison after she entered a plea of guilty to two (2) counts of Second Degree Murder (F1 PBL) for the deaths of her two (2) newborn infant children. The murders were discovered on April 15th, 2018, at THOMAS's home located at 138 Laurel Oak Street, West Melbourne, FL.

 

THOMAS also pled guilty to two (2) counts of Aggravated Child Abuse (F1) and one (1) count of Tampering with Physical Evidence (F3). THOMAS was sentenced to thirty (30) years and five (5) years respectively, to be served concurrently. The sentence did not include probation.

 

The plea agreement was reached after prosecutors agreed to drop the First Degree Premeditated Murder that carried a potential death penalty, in exchange for todays guilty pleas.

 

The murders were discovered after THOMAS called 911 to report a single newborn child that wasn’t breathing. However, West Melbourne Police later discovered a second deceased newborn child at the home. Initially held on charges of Child Neglect, THOMAS was subsequently implicated in the death of both children and arrested for Murder on April 18th, 2018.

 

THOMAS will be transferred to the Florida Department of Corrections on a future undisclosed date to begin serving her sentence.