The Cook County Sheriff’s Office told local outlets that the mother confessed to her involvement in the twins’ deaths and disposing of their bodies
Cook County Jail
Antoinette Briley” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/44hZuLLMxDjDWrztJ1rkSw–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/people_218/dbf113f2014a7c5200c571850512eb4e” class=”caas-img”/>
Cook County Jail
Antoinette Briley
A Michigan mother will serve prison time after she was convicted of killing her newborn twin sons in 2003.
Antoinette Briley, 44, of Holland, Mich., pleaded guilty to murder charges at the Bridgeview Courthouse in Chicago, Ill. on Tuesday, May 7, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, according to Fox 32 Chicago, WLS-TV and the Chicago Tribune.
Briley was initially arrested in December 2020, and after being detained, she confessed to her involvement in the twins’ deaths and disposing of their bodies, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office said, per the Chicago Tribune and WLS-TV.
She was initially charged in court with two counts of first-degree murder stemming from the asphyxiation deaths of her infant sons.
Cook County Sheriff’s Office via AP
Antoinette Briley” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/ti6TxOYe5SVG.k8cCQTsbA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MQ–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/people_218/a2ef32a0a151c8d55550e13cdcd4c680″ class=”caas-img”/>
Cook County Sheriff’s Office via AP
Antoinette Briley
Related: American Found Dead, Tortured in Mexico Cemetery Had Ankle Tied to Tree, Boyfriend Is Charged with Murder
The twin baby boys were found dumped in a trash bin in an alley in Stickney, Ill., where a waste management worker spotted them in the front lift bucket of their garbage truck.
Investigators determined that the two babies were killed not long after they were born, as one of the babies still had the placenta attached to him.
From there, detectives hit a dead end and the case went cold for over a decade with no suspects identified. In 2018, investigators returned to the case and using genetic genealogy, they were able to link the babies to Briley through DNA.
Related: Md. Man Arrested on Murder Charges After His 68-Year-Old Mother Was Found ‘Unresponsive’ in Bathtub
Detectives then traveled to Briley’s hometown of Holland, Mich. where they found an item of Briley’s that had been “strongly associated” with the twins’ DNA, per WLS-TV, and a warrant for her arrest was sent out.
Police said in a press conference following her arrest that then-24-year-old Briley had given birth to the twins in a bathtub while she had been alone at her grandfather’s house. They said she had panicked as she didn’t know what to do with the crying babies and decided to put them in a duffle bag and drive to a nearby hospital.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
Along the way, authorities said she pulled over and found a garbage can. She removed the babies from the bag and placed them inside the trash can before driving back to her grandfather’s house.
When she returned to the house, she disposed of the duffle bag before watching some television and heading to bed.
Briley, who has a separate daughter that police said was safe, will carry out her prison sentence at the Illinois Department of Corrections.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
