Carrollton man sentenced in twin daughters' hot car deaths

CARROLLTON, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - A Carrollton man has been sentenced to prison for the deaths of his twin 15-month-old toddlers who were left in a hot car in August 2016. 

Asa North was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison on two counts of murder in the second degree. The first 10 years will be served in prison and the remaining 10 will be served on probation, according to the Office of the District Attorney of the Coweta Judicial Circuit. 

On August 4, 2016, Carrollton police responded to a 911 call along Tillman Drive about two twin toddlers who were found unresponsive. Police said they witnessed their father frantically trying to cool the little girls down in a kiddie pool. Neighbors told police they brought ice packs to put in the pool to help.

The girls, identified as Ariel and Alaynah North, were taken to Tanner Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead.

Police previously said they did not believe the deaths were intentional, and the twins' mother defended their father at the time of his arrest. 

“He’s a great father…  He’s a great father. He just made a mistake,” said Breal Ellis in 2016. “He’s very heartbroken... He broke down crying. He knows he made a mistake.”

At the sentencing on Wednesday, the mother of the victims wanted to judge to be "more merciful than harsh," according to the Office of the District Attorney of the Coweta Judicial Circuit. 

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