Father Pleads Guilty in Drowning of 2 Children

Avoiding the possibility of a death penalty, a Long Beach man pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree murder in the drowning deaths of his two young children in 1999.

Henry James White, 28, faces a sentence of life without parole, the district attorney’s office announced Monday.

White entered the plea as jury selection for his trial was about to begin. Deputy Dist. Atty. Mary T. Suzukawa had been seeking the death penalty.

White, who was estranged from his wife, was accused of drowning Christopher James, 5, and Brianna Monea, 15 months, in his bathtub. The children’s bodies were left in a dumpster at White’s apartment complex, authorities said.