MISSOULA - A Missoula mother charged with killing her two children in 2021 has changed her plea to guilty.
Leannah Jean Gardipe, 35, was charged with two counts of deliberate homicide in the stabbing deaths of her 3-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son in November 2021 at their Patty Ann Drive residence.
Gardipe changed her plea to guilty on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, in Missoula District Court. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 20.
Missoula Deputy County Attorney Matt Jennings said a plea agreement filed Tuesday recommends Gardipe serve two consecutive life sentences in custody at the state Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), with no time suspended.
But Jennings added that Gardipe's attorney can argue for a lesser sentence.
Gardipe has been held on a $10 million bond in the Missoula County Detention Center since her arrest.
