Nikki Whitehead was the mother of two sixteen-year-old identical twins Jasmiyah and Tasmiyah. She was found stabbed to death in the bathroom of her house in Conyers, Georgia on January 13, 2010. Initially, the authorities considered it to be the work of an outsider. However, upon investigation over four successive months, they found that the daughters had together killed their mother.
The twins initially didn't accept committing the crime, but upon rigorous and enough proof presented, they were found guilty of manslaughter. The sisters were presented before the juvenile court in 2014 and were sentenced to thirty years of imprisonment.
The complete case behind the murder of Nikki Whitehead was documented in Season 3, Episode 4 of The Real Murders of Atlanta. The episode premiered on September 7, 2024, at 9:00 PM EST on Oxygen.
A 'controlling' mother, strained custody battle, and more details of Nikki Whitehead's murder
1) The twins didn't like their mother and preferred staying away from her
Nikki Whitehead was only nineteen years old when she had her two daughters, Jasmiyah Kaneesha and Tasmiyah Janeesha Whitehead. Nikki's mother Della Frazier raised the kids initially and Nikki was very infrequent with parenting while the twins were growing up.
Nikki Whitehead requested custody of her daughters in 2007 when they were thirteen years old. The twins denied staying with their mother leading to clashes between them, which elevated to a level that the authorities had to get involved. On January 5, 2010, the mother regained custody of the kids, despite her kids' will. As per Della Frazier, Nikki was too controlling on her grandkids.
2) The twins staged themselves to be innocent
After Nikki Whitehead regained custody, despite the girl's protests, the court ordered the twins to live with their mother for two weeks. It was January 13, 2010, when one of the twins signaled a passing police car to stop near their house located in the Bridle Ridge Walk subdivision.
When the police entered the house, they found Nikki Whitehead dead in the bathtub. The twins claimed they discovered the crime scene after they returned from school. Tasmiyah told the cops that she heard Jasmiyah scream when they reached, and there was blood splashed all over. As per the episode of The Real Murders of Atlanta, Lieutenant Moon from Rockdale County Sheriff's Office stated that the twins were treated as shocked victims in the beginning.
Lt. Moon said that they found dragging blood stains that went from the living room, all the way to the master bedroom. Jasmiyah agreed that she had touched the dead body. The police later found out that not only did they touch their mother, but they had stabbed and bitten her. Nikki Whitehead's spinal cord was broken into pieces which led to her death.
3) Police found shocking evidence behind Nikki Whitehead's murder
When interrogated separately the twins conveyed different narratives. The more answers they gave, the more suspicion began to grow that something was off about them. They said both of them were late for school that morning, and walked to Rockdale.
However, surveillance footage showed them walking only to a gas station and then taking a lift from a passerby and reaching two hours late to the school. At home, the investigators found a letter Tasmiyal wrote to her boyfriend expressing how much she hated being with her mother and wished she were dead.
Detective Read reported that both girls covered their arms which had bite and scratch marks all over them. Jasmiyah explained the marks by claiming that she had fought with her sister. Howbeit, the DNA testing and the examination of teeth marks revealed that the twins were involved in a deadly brawl with their mother.
4) The twins confessed they killed their mother together
The twins were eventually taken into custody, and soon they started spitting the truth. They said it all started with a heated debate that morning when they got late for school.
Jasmiyah stated that it first started with shouting and then Nikki started throwing things at them. At one point, Nikki picked up a vase, which the daughters tried to grapple away from her. Tasmiyah said she eventually directed a knife at her mother and she broke the vase of her head. Nikki then began to bite Jasmiyah, at which point her sister stabbed her mother.
Jasmiyah confessed she took her childhood medal and began choking her mother with its ribbon. When Nikki fought back, she continued to stab her with the knife, until she stopped moving. Then the twins dragged her to the bathtub and left her to die.
5) Jasmiyah Kaneesha and Tasmiyah Janeesha Whitehead were sent to 30 years of imprisonment
In January 2014 Tasmiyah pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and deceit for which she was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment at Arrendale State Prison located in Habersham County, Georgia.
The next month Jasmiyah also accepted the same charges and she was sent to a separate correction prison for women named Pulaski State Prison, located in Hawkinsville, Georgia. The twins were eligible for parole in 2017. Tasmiyah now has a tentative parole hearing for May 2025, and Jasmiyah has a tentative parole set for September 2027.
To know more about Nikki Whitehead's murder, watch the complete episode on Season 3 of The Real Murders of Atlanta on Investigation Discovery and Amazon Prime Video.
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