A Tulsa mom has been arrested after authorities claim that she attempted to kill her own children. Opposing Views reports that Kristen Kirk allegedly set fire to her apartment with her sleeping children inside of it. However, it’s the woman’s alleged reason for the incident that is attracting the most attention to this case.
The 32-year-old Tulsa mom was taken into police custody on Wednesday after a maintenance worker at the apartment complex notified them about the incident. The man called after he heard a smoke alarm go off in the apartment, and discovered two children trapped inside of it. When police arrived, the apartment was filled with smoke, and there was evidence which indicated that the fire had been started intentionally.
Police in Tulsa say the stove was on in the apartment, with cans sitting on the burners. The microwave was also on in the kitchen with metal inside of it. Authorities have said that it was “lucky” that the maintenance worker made the discovery and called them when he did. That’s because the microwave was close to catching on fire.
Fortunately, the two children — ages 6- and 9-years-old — were not harmed in the incident, but they could have been had the maintenance worker not heard the smoke alarm in the first place.
The Tulsa mom reportedly returned to the apartment while police were still present, which led to her arrest. She also allegedly confessed to what had happened, offering an absolutely bizarre reason for why she had intentionally started the apartment fire with her kids trapped inside. Kirk told police that she believed her two young children were cannibals.
News 5 Online reports that the Tulsa mom also admitted that she had recently gone off of her medication , and that she suffered from depression. She reportedly admitted to making another attempt on the children’s lives prior to Wednesday’s arson attempt. She said she tried to catch the apartment on fire once before, but had failed.
New York mom killed baby girl, lived with body for months, police say | https://t.co/hh6J4PJSKl ..psychotic.yes. mentally ill? Absolutely
— sam (@kwahuman) May 9, 2016
This isn’t the first time a mother has used bizarre reasoning to taking the life of her children. Last year, a New York mother was accused of smothering her own baby to death. At the time of her arrest, she allegedly told police that she killed her baby because she “ was afraid someone was going to eat him. ” She also later said that the “devil” made her commit the horrifying crime.
In 2014, a Maryland mom was arrested after she stabbed her two toddlers to death. The reason she allegedly committed this grisly act was because she “ thought the devil was in the kids ,” and she needed to perform a so-called exorcism on them.
In 2009, a San Antonio mom by the name of Otty Sanchez committed a crime so gruesome that her story remains one of discussion on social media. Otty Sanchez reportedly killed her three-week-old son in an apparent psychotic episode, during which time she decapitated him and cannibalized parts of his body. She, like moms in similar cases, claimed that the “devil” made her do it. Ultimately, Sanchez was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
In 2009, Otty Sanchez cannibalised her baby, stating the devil made her do it. She was found not guilty for insanity. pic.twitter.com/W8fKFlFEl9
— Seriously Strange (@SeriousStrange) June 19, 2015
In the case of Tulsa mom Kristen Kirk, police have charged her with first degree arson and child neglect. No reports have clarified on whether or not the woman will face charges associated with attempted murder. It’s not known if she is being held on bond at this time. Meanwhile, her two children have been removed from her custody, and placed into the care of DHS.
[Image via Tulsa Police]
