NEW ORLEANS — The man indicted for killing his three children by setting his family's house on fire has entered a guilty plea to avoid the death penalty the Orleans Public Defender's Office confirms to WWL Louisiana.
According to the defense, Joseph Washington, 30, pleaded guilty as charged to three counts of first-degree murder and obstruction of justice Thursday to avoid the death penalty.
During the judge's sentencing family members of the murdered children, ages 3; 5 and 8, rushed across the courtroom and began beating Washington until he fell to the ground and court officers had to remove the family from the courtroom.
Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge Nandi Campbell sentenced Washington to a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
Back in October, Washington set fire to the house on America Street in the Plum Orchard neighborhood which claimed the lives of Avery Washington, Jayla Washington, and Joseph Washington.
Investigators said Washington set the fire after making threats to the children’s mother, who is his ex-wife. She was at work at the time and called the police pleading for help.
When firefighters arrived, they found two unresponsive children – the 5-year-old girl and the 8-year-old boy were rescued from the home by firefighters but died at the hospital. The third child was found near the center of the home and was pronounced dead on the scene.
A neighbor's door camera caught video of the blaze and what was Washington walking out the front door as the house began to be engulfed in flames.
Investigators said Washington then sent his car floating in the river which was recovered from a levee bank in Gretna. He was later caught and indicted.
A woman, Shanyka Phillips, 31, was also indicted by a grand jury for her role in helping Washington escape. she was indicted in March on one count of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder and one count of accessory after the fact to arson.
Washington's lawyer, Barksdale Hortenstine, praised his client's decision to plead guilty Thursday.
“This morning, with dignity, Mr. Washington accepted responsibility for the deaths of his children," Hortenstine said. "At the earliest opportunity, he pleaded guilty and agreed to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole.”
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