Inmate Name: Leslie Demeniuk
Charge: Murder, two counts
Sentence: Two consecutive life sentences
Prison: Lowell Correctional Institution, Florida

Leslie Demeniuk was born in Charlottesville, Virginia. When Leslie was twelve years old, her parents divorced and she went to live with her father in Baltimore, but kept in touch with her mother. At age 25, she began dating Tommy Demeniuk and became pregnant, right before Tommy was deployed to the Persian Gulf with the Navy. When Tommy returned home in 1996, the couple got married and Leslie gave birth to twin boys, Johnnie and Jamie. Tommy's continuing long deployments with the Navy, however, created a strain on the marriage, and in 1999, while Tommy was away at sea, Leslie sent him an email saying she wanted a divorce. While waiting for the divorce to come through, Leslie fell in love with Antonio Ortiz, a local sports photographer. In spite of Leslie's newfound happiness with Antonio, she became anxious and depressed about a custody battle over her twin sons. She was given a prescription for an antidepressant and anti-anxiety medication but claims she began having side effects such as hallucinations and memory loss. In addition, she began drinking heavily. For emotional and financial support, she moved in with her father, and her stepmother in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. On March 13, 2001, Leslie's divorce was settled; Leslie was awarded custody of the twins and Tommy got visitation rights. Despite the favorable outcome, Leslie says she was still depressed and suffering from serious side effects of the medication. She was switched to a different medication but still suffered side effects and took alcohol along with the medication.

According to court records, in the afternoon of March 17, 2001, Leslie's twins Jamie and Johnny, were watching cartoons in their mother's bedroom. Leslie had set up a date with Antonio that evening. She then called Tommy and asked him to watch the kids but Tommy said he was busy that evening. When she hung up the phone, she got her gun that her father had given her years before for protection and shot both her children. Immediately after, Leslie called Antonio and told him what she had just done. Antonio drove over and called 911. Leslie was in shock. Although Leslie admitted killing her children to police she says she still didn't realize the gravity of her actions. Leslie was charged with two counts of murder. Although the defense argued that Leslie killed her children in a moment of insanity while she was involuntarily intoxicated on anti-depressants, alcohol and an anti-anxiety medication, she was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and is serving two consecutive life sentences. She tutors problem inmates in math, reading and writing.