On Monday, Jan. 27, Dorothy Flood was sentenced to 21 years in prison for killing her twin grandsons, according to the Pima Superior Court. Flood, a Flowing Wells-area resident, pled guilty to two counts of manslaughter after a December plea deal lowered her initial charges of first-degree murder.
Flood, 56, was arrested by police on Friday, April 5, 2019, after her twin autistic grandsons, aged 8, were found dead with “obvious signs of trauma” in their home. Flood, the twins’ guardian, told the police “she alone was responsible for her grandchildren’s deaths.”
According to Pima Superior Court documents, on Thursday, April 4, 2019, Flood shot the boys twice each, and then attempted to kill herself by taking an “unknown quantity of prescription medication.”
Northwest Fire District personnel responded to a medical call at their home on the 2400 block of West Kessler Place. Upon arrival, medical personnel found Flood unresponsive in the house. While providing medical care to her, they found the bodies of the boys with gunshot wounds to their heads and torsos.
The victims were identified as Jaden and Jordon Webb, who were nonverbal and severely autistic, according to court records. Flood became guardian of the boys in March 2017 after their mother, Kristen Webb, died in February 2017. The boys’ father is unknown. Flood had no previous criminal record in Pima County.
This article appears in Jan 23-29, 2020.
Tragic and sad. It is terrible that she did this to her grandsons, and attempted to take her own life. She must have been very desperate. There is a hope that something positive can come from this tragedy. Caregivers in such a situation need a lot of support. Perhaps she didn’t know how or didn’t qualify? It just makes me sad to think
Of the pressure she must have felt to be responsible for 2 children with disabilities.
Having a child with high functioning autism I can understand the hopeless she may have felt. It can
Be very dark. My child is grown now and we live a
Fairly normal life. I don’t think she ever would have.