An Alaska mother will spend decades behind bars after pleading guilty to the murders of her young daughters, who died two years apart under eerily similar circumstances.
On Monday, Stephany Elizabeth Bilecki, 30, formerly known as Stephany LaFountain, was sentenced to 130 years in prison (with 85 years suspended) by a Fairbanks court. He will serve a total of 45 years in state prison after pleading guilty in July to two counts of second-degree murder.
The plea deal caused prosecutors to drop additional charges, including two counts of first-degree murder. During the sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth Crail said“The mandatory minimum for both is, in fact, 20 years because in each case it was their son.”
The first tragedy occurred in September 2015 when Bilecki called her boyfriend and mother to announce that her four-month-old daughter, Chyanne, had died. Ten minutes before her mother arrived, Bilecki dialed 911. Chyanne’s death was initially attributed to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), but further investigation revealed signs of strangulation.
Two years later, in November 2017, a chillingly similar incident occurred. While her husband was deployed, Bilecki called her in-laws after she couldn’t reach him, claiming that her 13-month-old daughter, Jasmine, had stopped breathing. Once again, he called 911 shortly before the family arrived.
Prosecutors revealed disturbing evidence, including Bilecki’s online searches that led to Jasmine’s death. His phone history included phrases like “ways to suffocate,” “ways to kill a human without evidence,” and “16 steps to killing someone and not getting caught.” Jasmine’s autopsy confirmed that she died from lack of oxygen, prompting investigators to reexamine Chyanne’s death.
In August 2018, a grand jury indicted Bilecki, and after years of legal proceedings, she accepted a guilty plea earlier this summer. Superior Court Judge Patricia Haines described Bilecki’s acceptance of responsibility as “barely audible.”
“The conduct that forms the basis of defendant Bilecki’s convictions shocks the conscience,” Fairbanks District Attorney Joe Dallaire said in a statement.
“While we cannot expect anything to ever make up for the losses suffered by the parents of these babies or their other family members, I hope that the convictions and sentences imposed provide some measure of justice to the families of Jasmine and Chyanne and the community of Fairbanks in general.”
Bilecki will remain under strict conditions upon his release, including a ban on unsupervised contact with minors under 16 in private settings. The tragedy leaves lingering questions and anguish for the families of the two young women, as the Fairbanks community grapples with a profound loss.