A Georgia woman convicted in the brutal stabbing death of her mother with her twin sister has been released from prison after spending roughly half of her 30-year sentence in custody.
Tasmiyah Whitehead, 33, was released on August 5 following 12 years at Pulaski State Prison. She had been sentenced to 30 years for her role in the January 2010 killing of her mother, Nikki Whitehead.
Whitehead and her twin sister, Jasmiyah, were 16 when their mother was stabbed between 50 and 80 times inside the family’s home in Conyers, Georgia, a case that later led to the sisters being dubbed the “twisted twins.”
The sisters were arrested four months after the killing and initially charged with murder. In 2014, however, they accepted a plea agreement and admitted guilt to the reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter.
Tasmiyah received 20 years for voluntary manslaughter, along with an additional five years for possession of a knife during the commission of a crime and five more years for making false statements to investigators.
Before her conviction, she had already spent four years in pre-trial detention. She then served another 12 years after sentencing before parole was granted and she was released last month.
Although Tasmiyah had been eligible for parole since 2017, her sister Jasmiyah remains behind bars and will not become eligible for parole until May 2028, despite accepting the same plea deal.
Tasmiyah Whitehead, 33, has been released from prison after serving roughly half of her sentence for killing her mother alongside her twin sister
Tasmiyah Whitehead and her twin sister Jasmiyah stabbed their mother, Nikki, inside their Conyers, Georgia, home in a case that saw them labeled the “twisted twins”
Tasmiyah appeared in a selfie shared on social media after her release, writing: “My past explains where I came from. It doesn’t determine where I’m going”
During their childhood, the twins were largely raised by their great-grandmother, who said their mother had not been a consistent presence in their lives.
Nikki Whitehead briefly regained custody in 2007 before the sisters were returned to their great-grandmother. Around that period, the twins also spent time in juvenile detention following a series of physical fights.
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.’
