Guilty But Mentally Ill Plea In Murders Of Lehigh County Mother, Sister
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A man has pleaded guilty but mentally ill in the slayings of his mother and sister outside an eastern Pennsylvania apartment building more than 2 1/2 years ago. Prosecutors said 37-year-old Zakiiy Carson entered the plea Tuesday in Lehigh County court to two counts of third-degree murder as part of a plea deal calling for a sentence of 25 to 50 years in prison.
Authorities said Carson told investigators that he stopped taking psychiatric medicine weeks before arguing with his mother, 52-year-old Latricia Ezell, in October 2018, and the argument got worse after his 29-year-old sister, Ashley Campfield, arrived to pick up her 3-year-old son.
Detective Erik Landis testified in a December 2018 hearing that Carson left the Allentown complex to smoke a cigarette but then shot his sister and his mother as they came out of the building, leaving the frightened boy "running back and forth between the victims."
Prosecutors said the plea agreement calls for terms of 12½ to 25 years for each victim to be served consecutively. They said Carson won't be eligible for parole until age 60 and the deal took into consideration the defendant's documented mental health history and the wishes of surviving family members.
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