Mum calls cops after stabbing kids, father
UNITED STATES: Georgia mother Isabel Martinez was charged with multiple counts of murder in the stabbing deaths of four of her children and their father, law enforcement said yesterday.
Martinez was detained yesterday after calling 911 at 4.47am, local time, from inside the Emory Lane home, located in Loganville, a suburban area north of Atlanta. Authorities found the four children and their father stabbed to death.
A fifth child was also stabbed and flown by helicopter to an Atlanta hospital. There was no immediate word on the young girl’s condition.
All of the children were under the age of 10 and the father was in his mid-30s, according to the police.
Martinez was charged with five counts of malice murder, five counts of murder and six counts of aggravated assault. She was being held at the Gwinnett County jail.
She has also been put on an immigration hold.
The stabbings reportedly occurred between 2am and 4am yesterday, according to arrest warrants.
The woman is the ‘‘primary suspect,’’ and police are ‘‘not searching for anyone else,’’ Gwinnett police Corporal Deon Washington said earlier in the day.
‘‘What prompts a person to take the life of such innocent children and her spouse is something we may never understand,’’ Gwinnett police said in a statement.
‘‘This is a horrendous crime not only for the victims but for the extended family, neighbourhood and community. We are hoping and praying the remaining victim survives his/her injuries and makes a full recovery,’’ the statement said.
‘‘It’s reasonable to believe they were in the home all night,’’ Washington said.
A search warrant was obtained and detectives worked for several hours inside the mobile home.
Neighbours said the family had moved to Georgia from Illinois about a month ago, and that the woman’s father had recently died.
Jim Hollandsworth said the children had enrolled in an afterschool programme he runs. They were new to the area, but had extended family there, he said.
‘‘Everyone is in complete shock,’’ Hollandsworth said. ‘‘The last few weeks our staff has gotten to know these kids very well.’’
He described the children as ‘‘great, happy, participating in our programmes ... they just jumped right in.’’
Neighbour Pedro Ramirez, 15, said the slain children would ride bikes all the time in the neighbourhood. They always came out to play when their cousin knocked on the door, he said. However, that didn’t happen when the cousin knocked about 4pm Wednesday, Ramirez said. – TNS