27-Year-Old Mom Who Killed 2 Young Sons Following Husband’s Death from Cancer Sentenced to Life

A 27-year-old Toronto woman who admitted to killing her two young sons in 2023 has been sentenced to life in prison.

On Monday, Nov. 17, Vanessa Collias pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto, according to CBC News, Global News and The Toronto Star.

Collias received a life sentence with no chance of parole for 18 years after acknowledging she killed her children, 4-year-old Dimitri Collias and 5-year-old Yiannis Collias.

During a virtual court appearance the same day, Collias delivered an emotional statement accepting responsibility for her actions. “I want to start off by apologizing to everyone my actions hurt and to the people I have let down,” she said, according to Global News.

“A part of me wonders why I never said I needed help. I stand in front of you a broken person. I wonder if I’m damaged beyond repair because I feel life has shattered my hopes and dreams,” she continued. “To my babies, I love you more than anything. Thank you for showing me what true love is.”

According to a press release from the Toronto Police Service, the incident occurred on Dec. 10, 2023. Police said a woman, later identified as Collias, was found injured on the ground outside an apartment building after falling from her balcony.

When officers went into her home, they discovered her two sons with no vital signs. The children were taken to the hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Collias was initially charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

The charges were later reduced after forensic psychiatrist Dr. Sumeeta Chatterjee concluded that Collias was suffering from an adjustment disorder following the death of her 72-year-old husband, Costa Collias, who died of leukemia on Dec. 1, 2023, CBC reported.

In court, Dr. Chatterjee described Collias as “broken” and “absolutely alone” after her husband’s death and said “the only thing she wanted was for the family to be reunited.” The diagnosis, however, did not relieve Collias of criminal responsibility for the deaths of her sons.’

A statement of facts read in court, as reported by CBC, said that after Collias attempted to die by suicide, she was left paraplegic. She had written notes for police, laid out her sons’ funeral clothing next to a photograph of their late father, and placed a cross beside their bodies.

Collias told the court she had been a “round-the-clock caregiver” for her husband before he died and was “exhausted, running on fumes, trying to be okay.” She said that on Dec. 10 she “hit a wall and couldn’t push no more,” according to Global News.

Both the Crown and the defense jointly recommended that Collias serve 18 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole, a proposal accepted by the superior court justice.