Tampa, FL -- A bone-chilling confession was played aloud in court Wednesday. In the interview between Tampa Police and Julie Schenecker, she tells detectives that killing her teenage children was the worst thing she had ever done.
You'd have been hard pressed to find anyone in the courtroom who would disagree. Mostly coherent, but occasionally out of it, Schenecker spoke for more than half an hour with Tampa detectives. At one point, she asks them about the children she had killed hours before. She makes it clear she understood the difference between suicide and murder, and tells them about shooting her daughter 16-year-old Calyx "with a .38. Shot her in the back of the head," she tells them, "and then shot her in the mouth because her mouth angers me so much."
Schenecker tells the detective Calyx had become "snotty and nasty. Always crying."
Schenecker's son, Beau, had become increasingly like his sister, she said. So on the way to soccer practice, she shot him, too.
The first shot, she said, was to Beau's head "and then I did his mouth too because they're too sassy."
Schenecker says she originally bought the gun with thoughts of killing herself, but her plan changed as the kids became increasingly disrespectful.
"They were mean, she said, "They were really mean."
Schenecker, who called her then-husband Parker "great" during the interview, was concerned police would tell him what she had done.
"He's going to be upset. Literally upset," she said.
She tells detectives she had knelt next to the bodies of her children, apologizing for her behavior. Describing the scene as "a mess" she told detectives, "I hope they're dead. What do you think?"
"They're dead," the detective replies. "Basically had it all planned out, right?" they ask her.
"Yeah," replies Schenecker, "But I didn't go with the plan."
Detectives say Julie Schenecker was upset throughout much of their interview. On Wednesday in court, she was crying during parts of it as it was being played back.
Colonel Parker Schenecker was also holding onto his relatives, who were sobbing quietly.
The confession does not make Julie Schenecker sound like she was very stable, but there are several times she expresses regret, which goes to the question of sanity and the ability to tell right from wrong.
After hearing from the detective, Ralph Monaco, the man who sold Schenecker the gun, took the stand saying she claimed it was for self-protection after reports of a break-in in her neighborhood.
At the end of today's court session, there was a brief confrontation between the judge and Julie Schenecker. The judge has asked the defense to stipulate to the date that Beau and Calyx Schenecker were killed. Schenecker answered by saying her attorneys have advised her to say "yes," but the judge said that's not good enough -- that's not what he asked. He told her that he's not playing that game. Schenecker began to tremble and cry. The judge advised her to take time with her attorneys.
VIDEO: Schenecker Trial Resumes After Medical Delay
DNA links blood to children
Earlier in the day, blood stains on Julie Schenecker's white robe were determined to match those of her children.
That was the conclusion from DNA expert Ingrid Nielsen. Nielsen says she conducted tests on blood stains found all over the white robe Schenecker was wearing the morning her children were found dead.
Nielsen testified the stains matched the DNA of 13-year-old Beau and 16-year-old Calyx.
Next, Tampa Detective Gary Sandel was recalled to the stand, who talked about the statements Schenecker made to investigators at Tampa PD after she'd been read her rights.
It appears prosecutors are poised to play three CD's of that statement in court when they re-convene after lunch.
Husband testifies
On Tuesday afternoon, Schenecker's ex-husband testified in court.
The two were married at the time - they divorced after the killings - and he said that he had no safety concerns about leaving the children in her care.
Parker and Julie Schenecker were married for 20 years.
Her attorneys plan to use an insanity defense, saying that she has suffered from bipolar disorder and depression for decades.
Prosecutors say the slayings were premeditated, and point to a gun purchase and her journal entries as evidence.
For significant updates throughout the course of the trial you can follow on Twitter:@ericglassertv.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
