A woman from Toronto who killed her two sons two years ago has been given a life sentence in prison with no chance of parole for 18 years. Vanessa Collias, aged 27, admitted to two counts of second-degree murder at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto. The tragic incident occurred in her Scarborough apartment on Glamorgan Avenue in the vicinity of Kennedy and Ellesmere roads on Dec. 10, 2023.

Collias expressed her deep anguish to Dr. Sumeeta Chatterjee, a forensic psychiatrist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, stating that she felt shattered and profoundly isolated after her husband, Costa Collias, who was 47 years older than her, passed away from leukemia on Dec. 1, 2023, just three days after his diagnosis. She longed for their family to be reunited in the afterlife.

After taking the lives of her children, Collias attempted suicide and was left paralyzed. She left behind notes for the authorities and a list of family contacts, along with preparing her sons’ funeral attire, their birth certificates, and a photo of their deceased father, placing a cross near their bodies.

When the police arrived at Collias’s building in response to a distress call, they found her outside the building, claiming to have fallen from the sixth floor. The two boys were discovered side by side without vital signs and were later pronounced dead at the hospital.

In her letter to the police, Collias expressed remorse and sought forgiveness from her family members. The psychiatric report by Chatterjee revealed that Collias was overwhelmed by the sudden loss of her husband and was suffering from intense grief. Although she had an adjustment disorder, it did not qualify as a defense for being not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.

Both the prosecution and defense recommended an 18-year prison term for Collias before parole eligibility, which was approved and imposed by Superior Court Justice Maureen Forestell.