These Two Teens Had Enough Of Their Mother's Drinking, So They Killed Her
They Drugged And Drowned Their Mom In The Bathtub
Photo: Faughn Photography / flickr / CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0On the evening of Linda's murder, Elizabeth and Sandra plied their mom with liquor and six Tylenol 3s, a pain reliever that includes acetaminophen and codeine, then drew a bath for her. They asked her to lie on her back so they could scrub her, but when Linda rolled over, they forced her head down into the water and held it there for four minutes. When she resurfaced, she was dead. After the deed was done, the girls went to a restaurant called Jack Astor's to provide an alibi for the murder.
They Dialed 911 And Informed The Police Their Mom Drowned
After returning home from the restaurant, Sandra and Elizabeth dialed 911 and informed police that they'd found their mom dead in the bathtub. They initially believed the girls' story, so the pair felt like they got away with murder. It wasn't until a family friend went to the police and recorded the sisters' confessions that they became prime suspects.
Their Friends Knew About The Murder And Kept It A Secret
Photo: Perfect Sisters / AmazonAccording to Bob Mitchell's original report of the murder, the girls talked about it to their friends. Sandra told her friend Ashley via an online messaging system; Ashley phoned her several times to try to convince her not to do it. Sandra also told Jay, who helped formulate their Jack Astor's alibi but decided not to go at the last minute out of fear.
After the murder, they told more friends, speaking openly about the crime at the shopping mall and at school. Sandra confided in her boyfriend, Donny, who opted to breakup with Sandra instead of turning her in. All of their friends were around 15 and 16 at the time of the murder.
The Daughters Wanted To Cash In Their Mom's Insurance Policy
Photo: Perfect Sisters / AmazonApart from their issues with Linda's parenting style, Sandra and Elizabeth were supposedly interested in her life insurance policy, which was over $100,000. According to Inquisitor, they wanted her dead so they could receive money from the policy and live a better life. They wanted to travel and buy a bigger house with a backyard and swimming pool. During the trial, both sisters allegedly emphasized that the insurance policy had nothing to do with wanting Linda dead, but their friends told a different story.
A Family Friend Finally Went To Police A Year Later
Photo: Perfect Sisters / AmazonFor a whole year after Linda's murder, it appeared that the girls had gotten away with the heartless crime. But one of their friends finally went to police and confessed that they told him the details of the drowning at a party. The police wired him with a recording device, and he captured the confessions that lead to their arrest. According to City News, Elizabeth and Sandra were sentenced to 10 years, which is the maximum sentence for minors who commit first-degree murder. But they didn't serve all of that time behind bars.
The Girls Were Released From Prison After Four Years
Photo: Alexander C. Kafka / flickr / CC-BY-ND 2.0After serving four years in prison, during which the girls had little communication with one another, they were released on parole. Both Sandra and Elizabeth went on to pursue higher education; Sandra studied engineering, and Elizabeth went into law. Their parole period ended in 2016, and the two are living anonymous lives.
The Younger Sister Still Lies and Manipulates To Get What She Wants
Photo: Perfect Sisters / AmazonIn Bob Mitchell's 2009 Toronto Star article, he reports that the youngest sister's prison therapist says that she has little empathy and is manipulative, which led one Crown prosecutor to oppose her release into a halfway house so she could attend the University of Waterloo. "She is still in the offense cycle and exhibiting the same pattern of behavior she did prior to the murder," Dr. Janine Cutler told the court at the time. Nevertheless, the sister was eventually released into a halfway house and went on to study at a Canadian university.
Their Real Names Were Hidden From The Public Under Canadian Law
Photo: Perfect Sisters / AmazonBecause Elizabeth and Sandra were under the age of 18 at the time of the murder, their real names were hidden from the public under Canadian Law. When Bob Mitchell reported on the case, he created the aliases Sandra, Elizabeth, and Linda Anderson, which is what they've been referred to since. An internet sleuth has discovered their real names, but their identities are still protected under Canadian law.
There's A Book And Lifetime Movie About The Sisters
Video: YouTube
In 2014, director Stan Brooks made a Lifetime movie called Perfect Sisters based on the book by former Toronto Star reporter Bob Mitchell titled The Class Project: How To Kill A Mother: The True Story of Canada's Infamous Bathtub Girls. It starred Abigail Breslin and Georgie Henley as the sisters and Mira Sorvino as their mother.
According to Mitchell, the film offered a more sympathetic look at the situation than the book. "If you didn’t know the whole story, the movie comes across as these poor girls... who were pushed to the limit and this is how they figured out how to get out of it, but then in the end they get caught," Mitchell said in an interview with City News. "I don’t think the movie dealt with how cold blooded and calculating they were."
This Case Is Often Confused With The Story Of The Whitehead Twins
Video: YouTube
Many reporters compare their story to that of the Whitehead twins; Jasmiyah and Tasmiyah Whitehead stabbed their mother Jarmecca 'Nikki' Whitehead 80 times and left her body in the bathtub because they resented their strict home life. The twins had a history of violence and had attacked their mother previously. Authorities became suspicious when the pair behaved strangely in custody and didn't appear to be truly mourning. They were both sentenced to 30 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter after a lengthy investigation that uncovered DNA evidence incriminating the pair.
