Two burglars tied up lesbian couple and their adopted kids then slit their throats so they could steal an Xbox and a TV, prosecutors claim

  • Shanta Myers, her girlfriend Brandi Mells and Myers' children were killed
  • Authorities said all four had been bound by their feet and had their throats slit
  • Grand jury indicted James White and Justin Mann on multiple counts of murder
  • The indictment said the pair were committing a burglary when they killed family 

A woman, her lover and two adopted children were brutally murdered over a flat-screen television and Xbox in upstate New York, an indictment says.

Shanta Myers, 36, her girlfriend Brandi Mells, 22, and Myers' children – Shanise, five, and 11-year-old Jeremiah – were killed on December 21.

But their bodies were not found until the day after Christmas in their basement apartment in Troy, north of Albany.

Authorities said all four had been bound by their feet and had their throats slit.

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Shanta Myers and her girlfriend Brandi Mells were found dead in their upstate New York apartment on Boxing Day
Shanta Myers and her girlfriend Brandi Mells were found dead in their upstate New York apartment on Boxing Day

Shanta Myers (left) and her girlfriend Brandi Mells (right) were found dead in their upstate New York apartment on Boxing Day

Myers' children, five-year-old Shanise and Jeremiah, 11, were also found dead
Myers' children, five-year-old Shanise and Jeremiah, 11, were also found dead

Myers' children, five-year-old Shanise (left) and Jeremiah, 11, (right) were also found dead  

On Friday, a grand jury indicted James White, 38, and Justin Mann, 22, on multiple counts of murder as well as burglary and robbery.

White and Mann pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on Friday, and were held without bail.

The indictment said the men were committing a burglary when they killed the women and children before fleeing the apartment with the television and video game console.

Last week, Myers' nephew revealed Mann had been friends with 22-year-old Mells.

'I never seen him before a day in my life but some of my family members recognize him as Brandi's friend,' Khalif Coleman told the Daily Beast.

On Friday, a grand jury indicted James White (pictured) and Justin Mann on multiple counts of murder as well as burglary and robbery

On Friday, a grand jury indicted James White (pictured) and Justin Mann on multiple counts of murder as well as burglary and robbery

White and Mann (pictured) pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on Friday, and were held without bail

White and Mann (pictured) pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on Friday, and were held without bail

And it has emerged that in the days before her death, Mells had searched online for toys and video games to get Myers' children for Christmas.

She had also tried to sell winter tires for $200 in a local Facebook group, the Daily Beast reports.

On December 17 - just four days before the family were slain - Mells wrote: 'If anyone have ps3 or xbox1 systems with games for my two boys they don't have anything for Christmas anything help.' 

On Sunday, hundreds gathered at a memorial service for Myers and her two children at the Troy Middle School auditorium. Services will be held at a later date for Mells.

Myers' eldest son Isaiah, 15, survived the massacre since he was away in Massachusetts at the time.

James White
Justin Mann

The indictment said the men were committing a burglary when they killed the women and children before fleeing the apartment. Left, James White and right, Justin Mann

The teenager said he was in fear for his life, terrified the killers would come for him next.

Speaking about the moment he found out his entire family had been wiped out, he told CBS6: 'Heartbroken. I fell down to the ground right in the bathroom and cried thinking, ''who would've done this?''

Both White and Mann have a criminal history.

White was released from prison in 2010 after pleading guilty to the 1999 stabbing of a man during a break-in.

Mann was released on parole in June after being convicted of first-degree robbery in Queens, New York, in 2014.