Georgia Mother Charged With Fatally Stabbing 4 Children And Husband
A 33-year-old Georgia woman, Isabel Martinez, was charged Thursday with multiple counts of murder for allegedly stabbing four of her children and her husband to death. She also severely injured another child at the family's residence outside Atlanta, police confirmed, multiple reports said.
Isabel was charged with five counts of murder, five counts of malice murder and six counts of aggravated assault. The hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday. Police said the nine-year-old injured girl — identified as Diana Romero — who survived the stabbing was being treated at a hospital. The police identified other victims as Isabela Martinez (10), Dacota Romero (7), Dillan Romero (4), and Axel Romero (2), and their father Martin Romero (33).
Police detained Isabel till the bodies were discovered inside her home in Loganville, Georgia, Gwinnett County police Cpl. Michele Pihera told reporters. "She was quickly taken into custody and right now she's at Gwinnett County Police Headquarters being interviewed," Pihera told the reporters at the scene of the incident.
Authorities said the accused cooperated with the investigators; however, the motive behind the killings was not revealed. "Right now, we believe we have everybody involved in this crime," Pihera said, and assured the people in the neighborhood that no dangerous person was at large.
Police claimed there were indications of use of a knife for the attack, however, a medical examiner would make the final call.
Neighbors said they had not been aware of the situation until the police came to investigate the scene. They also mentioned the Spanish-speaking family moved to the neighborhood recently and they had not observed any unusual behavior among the children. The children appeared to be happy when they played with other kids in the community, the neighbours said, according to the Associated Press.
"She seemed so normal, like regular mother," said a neighbor, Letty Perez, referring to Isabel, according to ABS-affiliate WSBT-TV. "She was good, went to our church last weekend, she was there with us."
Jim Hollandsworth, a spokesman at the Path Project — a nonprofit organization in the neighborhood that runs an after-school program — said the children also participated in the program and spoke English as their second language, the AP reported.
"It's awful. It's devastating. Everyone is in complete shock," Hollandsworth said. "The kids were engaged in what we're doing. They were happy. They were fantastic kids with a bright future."
One of the neighbors, Pedro Ramirez, told the police that Isabel was depressed as her father had died recently, but she seemed like a "happy person," Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
A campaign has been started on the GoFundMe site to help the sole survivor in the family. "The burden of funeral costs is a lot for our family, and any help would be greatly appreciated. The sole survivor of this tragic event, Diana, is still in the hospital and expected to stay there for another 2-3 weeks to recover from her injuries. Your donations would cover any medical costs incurred from the hospital as well as the funeral costs for the five deceased," a post on the website read.
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