Is This What These Hoes Mean By Slay?
By: Tommy “Tj” Sotomayor

Prosecutors have a month to decide if Shana Decree, 46, and her daughter Dominique Decree, 20, both accused of killing five family members, should face the death penalty.

Bucks County prosecutors have another month to decide if they will pursue the death penalty for two women accused of killing five family members in Morrisville almost a year ago.

Shana Decree, 46, and her daughter Dominique Decree, 20, were formally arraigned on their charges Tuesday morning in front of Judge Wallace Bateman Jr. They entered pleas of not guilty.

The pair barely spoke, except to respond to the judge’s questions about the charges and their pleas. At one point, sounds of crying emanated from the defendants’ table, and Dominique wiped her eyes. Shana closed hers briefly as the judge read the names of the victims.

Bateman allowed the prosecution to have an extension on deciding whether to pursue the death penalty for the two.

Deputy District Attorney Christopher Rees told reporters after the hearing that they want to take the time to make sure it is the appropriate decision.

“This is the most serious case that I’ve ever worked on in my 10-plus year career,” he said.

Additionally, the Decrees’ attorneys and the prosecution agreed on a tentative June 8 date for trial.

After the hearing, Rees declined to say what the believed motive in the killings is, but said that information will likely come out during their trial.

“I feel like the questions are: Why did this happen? Why did this happen? Why did this happen? It’s the same question I have because it does seem so hard to understand,” he said. “It’s such an unimaginable crime.”

Rees is focused, he said, on being able to tell the victims’ loved ones that “justice has been served.”

The Decrees are charged with five counts of homicide and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. On Tuesday, their homicide charges were modified to charges of first-degree murder.

Shana Decree, dressed in a blue jumpsuit, and Dominique Decree, in a red one, sat together as Bateman presented their charges to them. He said with first-degree murder, the prosecution is alleging they intended to kill the five.

Formal arraignments are typically scheduled not long after a defendant has a preliminary hearing in district court.

The Decrees, accused of killing five people in their apartment nearly a year ago, waived their preliminary hearings in April.

When asked about the time gap, Rees said that the severity of the case can make things take longer.

Authorities found the bodies of five of the defendants’ family members at Robert Morris Apartments on Feb. 25, 2019.

Killed were Shana Decree’s children Naa’Irah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr., 13; Shana Decree’s sister Jamilia Campbell, 42, of Trenton; and Campbell’s twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen, who were 9, according to police.

Shana and Dominique were found in the home dazed and disoriented, officials have said.

The two allegedly told authorities conflicting stories of what happened.

Shana Decree told them that all the people in the apartment, including the children, wanted to die and talked about suicide, court documents state.

Shana Decree admitted to killing Imani, but said Campbell killed Erika and Smith, according to authorities. Shana Decree said she and Dominique Decree killed Damon, police said.

Shana Decree said Dominique Decree killed Campbell, too, according to court documents.

However, Dominique Decree said that her mother killed Imani, Damon and Smith and that Campbell killed Erika by choking her, officials said. Dominique Decree then admitted to choking Campbell, according to police.

The two remain jailed without bail.