BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A 33-year-old Brevard County woman was sentenced to 50 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to killing her two infant newborn twins.
Rachael Thomas was arrested in April 2018 after she called 911 claiming to have given birth to a baby she wasn’t expecting and it wasn’t breathing. A baby boy was pronounced dead at the hospital and hours later West Melbourne police searched the home on Laurel Oak Street and found a dead newborn girl in a trash can outside the home.
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West Melbourne police confronted Thomas in the hospital and she said she only gave birth to one baby. She later changed her story and told officers both were dead, according to police.
An autopsy report also revealed Baby Jane and Baby John suffered severe blunt-force trauma to their heads, which was not consistent with Thomas’ story of giving birth in a toilet.
A digital analysis of Thomas’ internet search history obtained by News 6 from the state attorney’s office shows a search for the phrase, “How to induce labor.” According to those records, the search was conducted April 6, which is nine days before officers were called to the home on April 15.
On Tuesday, Thomas pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, two counts of aggravated child abuse and one count of tampering with evidence. Thomas entered a guilty plea as part of a deal with prosecutors who agreed to drop the first-degree murder charge, which carried the possibility of a death penalty.
Judge Charles Crawford sentenced her to 50 years in prison.
A prosecutor said the sentence was substantial.
“Obviously, it would have been a difficult case for jurors to decide so we were looking at the overall determination of how would justice be served and we thought with this 50-year disposition, justice would be served,” assistant state attorney Julia Lynch said.
Thomas will be transferred from Brevard County custody to the Florida Department of Corrections at a later date.
Police also said Thomas has two other young boys. They were placed with other relatives by the Florida Department of Children and Families.