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Bucks DA: Mother, daughter charged after 5 relatives killed

Police made the discovery late Monday afternoon while conducting a wellness check.

Crime Scene investigators remained Tuesday morning at the apartment complex where five members of a family were found dead on Monday Two other relatives -- a woman and her daughter -- have been charged.
Crime Scene investigators remained Tuesday morning at the apartment complex where five members of a family were found dead on Monday Two other relatives -- a woman and her daughter -- have been charged.Read moreKatie Park / Staff

A 45-year-old woman and her 19-year-old daughter have been arrested and charged in the deaths of five relatives, including three children, whose bodies were found in an apartment Monday afternoon, Bucks County District Attorney Matthew D. Weintraub said.

» UPDATE: Mass murder-suicide plan behind death of 5 family members in Bucks County, survivors tell police

» DOCUMENTS: Read the charging documents for Shana Decree and Dominique Decree

Shana S. Decree and her daughter Dominique Decree were charged with five counts each of homicide and one count of conspiracy in the deaths of of five family members found dead inside unit S-7 of the Robert Morris Apartments at 200 W. Bridge St. in Morrisville Borough, according to court documents.

Shana Decree was jailed without bail following a preliminary arraignment early Tuesday; her daughter was awaiting her hearing.

The victims included Shana Decree’s children, Naa’Irah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr., 13, both of Morrisville; as well as Shana Decree’s sister, Jamilla Campbell, 42, of Trenton, and Campbell’s 9-year-old twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen.

Court documents said that Shana Decree told police that Campbell killed Smith, and that everyone in the apartment, including the children, wanted to die and was “talking about suicide.”

“I wanted to make sure everybody knew that the people who committed these atrocious acts are now in custody and [will] be made to pay for their crimes,” Weintraub told TV news reporters at the scene late Monday night.

Police found their bodies just after 4 p.m. inside one of the first-floor apartment’s two bedrooms during a wellness check. Weintraub said the causes of death remain under investigation. He said it was premature to discuss a motive.

The investigation by the Morrisville Borough police and Bucks County Detectives was ongoing, Weintraub said.

A hazmat unit had been called to the apartments early in the investigation but subsequently left the scene.

Staff writer Vinny Vella contributed to this report