Trigger Warning: Mentions brutal details about a murder.
For a child, their mothers are their primary caregivers, the ones who nurture them, but what if they are the ones behind their child’s death? Mind-boggling, we know, but that is what happened with a little girl in Atlanta, Georgia, as a result of her mother being mentally unwell.
Authorities say 52-year-old Shannen Grimes told investigators the moments leading up to her daughter’s death felt surreal, more like “a dream.” 11-year-old Genesis Grimes was found dead with deep wounds after she was brutally stabbed four times, cleaned, and positioned in a living room recliner with a blanket and a Bible on her lap on November 12.
According to PEOPLE, Shannen Grimes is currently facing charges including murder, first-degree child cruelty, possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony, and tampering with evidence, as she is kept in the Fulton County Jail.
⚠️WARNING: This post describes the fatal stabbing of a child and a suicide attempt.
A Georgia woman has been charged with murder after police discovered her 11-year-old daughter’s body “cleaned and positioned” in a recliner following a fatal stabbing.
Shannen Grimes, 42, was… pic.twitter.com/SXaLj4JS0A
— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) November 20, 2025
During a case hearing on Dec. 10, detective Isaiah Tomlin testified, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC), that Grimes told officers, “I never intended to kill my daughter.”
It all began after Grimes appeared increasingly paranoid following a trip to visit her father in New Jersey. Detective Tomlin said Grimes feared someone might target her or Genesis “to get to his money or resources” and believed that if she took her own life, she and her daughter would “wake up from a bad dream,” according to AJC reporting.
After these statements, her sister immediately called 911 as Shannen told her she had tried to commit suicide. The sister was the one who let the cops enter the apartment, according to KGNS News. The condition in which the 11-year-old was found when the cops arrived at the house in Sandy Springs, Georgia, was deeply disturbing.
Genesis was found lying with deep cuts near her thumb and appeared to have been washed before being placed in the chair. Shannen had also injured herself in the process, after which she was rushed to the hospital. Officers discovered blood in the kitchen along with several knives in the sink that appeared to have reddish, blood-like stains.
They also found blood-soaked paper towels and other items seemingly used to wipe or collect blood in various parts of the home — including the bathroom, kitchen, trash cans, and a black bucket in the living room, according to the details in the arrest warrant.
There was no one else at the apartment except the two of them. One door had a chair propped against it from the inside, according to the warrants.
NEW: FBAs continue to kill their own kids
Shannen Grimes is charged with murder after allegedly stabbing her own 11-year-old daughter to death
📍Atlanta, GA pic.twitter.com/udmfXOYcwh
— MINORITY REPORT ‼️🔫 (@MelaninCrime) November 18, 2025
Neighbors told the media that the mother and her daughter were known as kind and polite, leaving the community shocked. “You just say to yourself, how could I not have known what was going on?” neighbor Mona D’Agostino said.
“It’s a tough situation for everyone. It’s tough for the family. Our thoughts go out to the family. It’s tough for the community. It’s tough for the police officers who had to deal with this,” said Sandy Spring police officer Leon Millholland.
