Murder of Linda Andersen

Linda Andersen was murdered by her two teenage daughters, Sandra and Elizabeth Andersen, on January 18, 2003 in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The names in this article are aliases, for legal reasons.

Sandra and Elizabeth Andersen were each sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2005. Neither sister served their full-time prison sentence: Sandra Andersen was released to a halfway house in 2009 and Elizabeth Andersen was released in 2010. Since they were under-aged at the time of the murder, the Canadian government is protecting the sisters' true identities and has issued the Andersen sisters with aliases. Linda Andersen's murder case was broadcast on the television series Deadly Women in 2010, and was the subject of Bob Mitchell's book 'The Class Project: How to Kill a Mother: The True Story of Canada's Infamous Bathtub Girls'. In 2014, a crime drama, Perfect Sisters, was released. The movie is based on the murder of Linda Andersen.

According to police reports, Sandra and Elizabeth Andersen, aged 16 and 15 respectively, had become irritated of their mother "wasting money on alcohol". Linda also had abusive relationships with men which also caused unrest for the girls. They were also unhappy that their friends had "better things like swimming pools and clothes". Because of their discontent, the sisters began to search on the Internet for ways to kill their mother. Elizabeth and Sandra Andersen believed that by killing their mother, they would be entitled to insurance money. This compensation, the sisters resolved, would be spent on a trip to Europe with their friends as well as a large house, with a backyard filled with marijuana. The sisters decided to drown Linda Andersen, because they believed it would be "fast and spectacular".

After formulating a murder plan, Elizabeth and Sandra Andersen informed their friends, who both encouraged the sisters and laughed at the idea of murdering Linda Andersen.

Murder

During lunch time on January 18 2003, Sandra and Elizabeth began giving their mother liquor in order to get her drunk. Their plan was to make Linda fully inebriated so that she could not resist their attack. Linda was also given pain killers by her daughters, to slow down her heartbeat. Sandra and Elizabeth then waited for the drugs to work. While waiting, the sisters communicated with their friends online, one of whom ended their conversation with the phrase "well good luck - wear gloves".

Sandra and Elizabeth Andersen filled the family bathtub with water and took Linda Andersen to the bathroom. Linda had difficulty getting into the bathtub, because of the mixture of vodka and pills she had been given. After putting gloves on, Sandra and Elizabeth gave their mother a massage. Within minutes, according to police reports, Sandra Andersen instructed her mother to lay on her stomach so that she could scrub her back. Sandra Andersen instantly pulled her mother's head down and did not let go. After four minutes, Sandra Andersen released her mother's head and found Linda Andersen to be dead. After having killed their mother, Sandra and Elizabeth Andersen went with their friends to a nearby restaurant where they celebrated their victory. Later that night, Sandra and Elizabeth Andersen called 9-1-1 and informed them that they had found their mother laying in the bathtub.

The 9-1-1 operator told Sandra and Elizabeth Andersen to take their mother out of the bathtub and to perform CPR. The Andersen sisters cried over the phone, telling the operator that Linda Andersen could not be resuscitated. When police arrived, they believed Sandra and Elizabeth Andersen's story.

Arrest

A year after the murder, Sandra and Elizabeth Andersen held a party. Sandra, who was drunk, told a male at the party about the murder of Linda Andersen that both she and Elizabeth had committed. She then told a guy that liked her that her mothers death might have not been an accident. He felt suspicious which later led him to the police to report what he was told. Sandra and Elizabeth Andersen were subsequently arrested, tried and sentenced to 10 years in prison. They were released in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

Life after

Both had received youth sentences. This allowed for children to be rehabilitated and have a chance at a normal life. The older sister, Sandra, was released to a halfway house in 2009, while the younger sister, Beth, was released a year later. Since both Sandra and Elizabeth Andersen were under the age of 18 at the time of the murder, their identities have been protected under Canadian law.

By 2020, it was reported that Sandra graduated from university and became a scientist, while Beth was married, became a mother, and graduated from law school. To pass the bar in Ontario, individuals are required to "be of good character". They are also required to report all criminal proceedings to the Law Society of Ontario, which could result in a hearing to determine if they meet ethical and professional standards. Liam O’Connor, a criminal defense lawyer, said in 2018 that he "might give a youthful killer a second chance" to become a lawyer, but not an adult murderer.

Other websites

• How To Kill A Mother review Archived 2018-06-12 at the Wayback Machine
• May 3, 2008 story on The Star
• Perfect Sisters the movie based on the murder Archived 2015-05-29 at the Wayback Machine