A Tennessee mom has been arrested after authorities discovered a horrifying scene of alleged murder, which included four young children under the age of six years old. News West 9 reports that the bloody incident took place at The Greens at Irene apartment complex in Shelby County. The details surrounding this shocking case are still in development, but the stabbing deaths of four innocent children have already attracted a massive amount of attention. What could have driven this newlywed mother to allegedly commit the unthinkable?
The incident reportedly took place on Friday. Authorities in Shelby County, Tennessee, were called to the residence inhabited by the family — who has not yet been named in any media reports. Shelby County Sheriff Bill Oldham has provided comments to the media about what they discovered.
“This is an egregious act of evil that has shocked us to our core. I will never understand how anyone can do this.”
Sheriff Oldham didn’t clarify on the ages of the children, but all four of them were under the age of six years old. Oldham referred to them as “babies,” while expressing his shock and disgust at what authorities discovered at the apartment. In-depth details haven’t been clarified, but all four children in the home were found stabbed to death, and the Tennessee mom was arrested directly at the scene. Authorities have confirmed that the father has been detained at the scene of the alleged murders, but he was not present at the time of the incident, which indicates that he arrived at the scene after the discovery of the children’s bodies.
ABC News 7 reports that it is not known at this time if the Tennessee mom has any mental conditions. Reports also haven’t clarified on whether or not all four children were biologically hers, or the result of a blended family. She was very recently married to the father, who has been detained but not charged with any crimes.
Andrea Yates, in a Mental Facility, Watches Videos of Her Children – 15 Years After She… https://t.co/RH54lpV8mL pic.twitter.com/QA3gtc3vCY
— EP LLC (@Empower_Partner) June 21, 2016
Sadly, this isn’t the first time a mother has been accused of killing her children. One of the most notorious cases of infanticide involves Andrea Yates, the Texas mother who methodically drowned all five of her children in a bathtub. The Texas mom was suffering from extreme postpartum depression — sometimes called postpartum psychosis — when she killed her kids in order to save them from living lives of sin.
1983 Diane Downs shot her three children #OnThisDay in #Springfield #Oregon @murderpedia @CI #KillerWomen pic.twitter.com/G4CPhIzG0L
— Iain Mac (@Iain_McDougall) May 19, 2016
Diane Downs is another mother notoriously known for slaying her own children. In 1983, Downs shot three of her children. One of her daughters died, but her son and another daughter survived the ordeal. She was convicted in association with the horrifying incident, and became known as an infamous killer of children.
There are a lot of details that haven’t been released in this latest case out of Tennessee, but authorities have confirmed that multiple people witnessed the horrifying attack that has left four children dead. Now people are asking why a mother could commit such a grisly act of murder against her own. Meanwhile, no names or identities are being published until family members of the children are notified and briefed on what has happened. In the meantime, social media is on fire with discussion about this shocking case of alleged child murder. Residents of the gated community where the incident took place are also expressing shock at what happened. The community is known to be a “safe” place that doesn’t have much experience with homicides or other horrific crimes in their neighborhood.
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