A Georgia woman who killed her mother alongside her twin sister in a horrific stabbing frenzy has been freed from prison after serving only half her sentence.
Tasmiyah Whitehead, 33, was freed on August 5, after 12 years behind bars in Pulaski State Prison, despite being hit with a 30-year sentence for the killing of her mother Nikki in January 2010.
Whitehead and her twin sister Jasmiyah, 16 at the time, brutally stabbed their mother between 50 and 80 times inside their home in Conyers, Georgia, and they became known as the ‘twisted twins.’
The sisters were arrested four months later and charged with murder, but in a plea agreement in 2014 they pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.
Tasmiyah was sentenced to 20 years for the manslaughter charge, plus five years for possession of a knife during a crime, and another five years for giving false statements to authorities.
She served four years in pre-trial detention and 12 years after her conviction, before being granted parole and released last month.
Tasmiyah had been eligible for parole since 2017, but her sister Jasmiyah will not be eligible for parole until May 2028 despite taking the same plea deal.
Tasmiyah Whitehead, 33, a Georgia woman who killed her mother alongside her twin sister in a horrific stabbing frenzy, has been freed from prison after serving only half her sentence
Tasmiyah Whitehead and her twin sister Jasmiyah brutally stabbed their mother Nikki inside their home in Conyers, Georgia, and they became known as the ‘twisted twins’
Tasmiyah seen in a selfie she shared to social media following her release, where she wrote: ‘My past explains where I came from. It doesn’t determine where I’m going’
During the twin sisters’ childhood, they had been primarily raised by their great-grandmother, who said that their mother had been an infrequent presence during their lives.
Whitehead briefly obtained custody in 2007 before the sisters were given back to their great-grandmother, and they spent time in juvenile detention due to a number of physical fights around the time.
Just two weeks before Whitehead was killed, a court handed the twin sisters back to the mother despite their protests against the move.
On the morning of January 13, 2010, the sisters got into a fight with their mother because they woke up late for school, and she told them they had to ‘live by my rules.’
The twins claimed that their mother then threatened them with a cooking pot, leading them to tackle her to the ground.
Police said Whitehead was found to have been severely beaten with the kitchen pot, and the girls stabbed their mother between 50 to 80 times during the frenzy.
Tasmiyah said she grabbed a knife because Whitehead bit her sister in the chest, and they continued stabbing and hitting their mother for some time.
During the twin sisters’ childhood, they had been primarily raised by their great-grandmother, who said that their mother had been an infrequent presence during their lives
Tasmiyah (right), who was freed last month, had been eligible for parole since 2017, but her sister Jasmiyah (left) will not be eligible for parole until May 2028 despite taking the same plea deal
Nikki Whitehead was stabbed between 50 and 80 times by her daughters in the brutal attack
They told investigators that they then dragged their mother’s body into the bathroom and dumped her in the bathtub to submerge her in water, and police said Whitehead was still alive at the time.
The sisters then left for school, and waited until they got home before calling 911.
Investigators initially believed the girls were at school when Whitehead was murdered, and the girls claimed they did not know what happened when first questioned by cops.
During a four-month investigation, the girls were eventually snared when detectives caught the girls discussing a ‘lack of evidence’ via a hidden microphone, including questioning why cops hadn’t found the murder weapon.
When they were arrested, the girls pleaded not guilty to murder, but took a plea deal in 2014 for voluntary manslaughter.
At the time, Tasmiyah said: ‘Just really wish it didn’t happen like that and I wish I could have solved something. I do I wish… Sorry… It was just confusion and turmoil and it never stopped.’
When the girls received their reduced sentenced, Whitehead’s mother Lynda slammed prosecutors, accusing authorities of not caring about Whitehead’s life.
‘It is like she is not important, she is the victim, it is like no one is concerned with what happened to her,’ she told WSB-TV.
As reports of Tasmiyah’s release captured headlines, she took to Facebook on Thursday to thank people who supported her freedom
As reports of Tasmiyah’s release captured headlines, she took to Facebook on Thursday to thank people who supported her freedom.
‘My past explains where I came from. It doesn’t determine where I’m going,’ she wrote.
‘You know what you were told and I’m fine with that because I’m secure through the most high. Thankful for the many who’s been along my side through this journey. Beautiful things are to come.
‘I’ve made it through many obstacles my entire life many unspoken upon. But if I can inspire anyone just know you don’t need to explain your identity to everyone. Some people are committed to misunderstanding you so find joy in life and love anyways.’
