Dimone Fleming: 'Erratic' Bronx mother stabbed sons to death as she ‘thought they were devils’
THE BRONX, NEW YORK CITY: An ‘erratic’ New York woman, who is accused of brutally stabbing her two minor sons, is reported to have "thought her sons were devils". The three-year-old and 11-month-old boys, identified as Deshawn Fleming and Octavius Canada, were found dead under clothes in a bathtub at their Bronx home at 246 Echo Place near Mount Hope.
The authorities believe the boys’ mother, Dimone “Brenda” Fleming, brutally stabbed them before concealing them in the bathtub, according to NY Daily News. The officials have discovered multiple stab wounds on the neck and torso of the brothers. They arrived at the residence following a call from a neighbor, complaining of a woman acting “erratic,” police said in a late-night press conference.
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Upon their arrival, the officers found a naked woman lighting objects on fire in her kitchen. She was soon apprehended without incident and brought to a nearby hospital for evaluation. It was revealed that the mother has previously displayed signs of mental health issues. One of the children’s great aunts, Casey Canada, reportedly told the NY Daily News that the mother, obsessed with demons, thought the young boys were “devils.” “She thought the kids were devils,” she allegedly said. “She said she was afraid of them. She definitely loved them for sure. That wasn’t fake.”
Backing Casey’s claims, one of the neighbors of the family stated that the mother was not right. “We overlook the signs [that] everybody in the building saw. She wasn’t right!” Crystal Roebuck told the New York Post “The signs were there! Now everybody in there is crying, ‘Boo hoo, I should have, I could have’ — they didn’t do nothing! They heard her screaming, mistreating those babies! They didn’t do nothing. They just put their earmuffs on, turned up the TV! Now they cryin’?!”
Fleming’s father Dwane “Dee” Fleming believes his daughter has postpartum depression. “Dimone was going through some stuff,” said Dwane Fleming. “And my sister said she will take the kids and that Dimone is going to the hospital and we’ll get some help for that. Dimone wanted to get treatment for herself.”
The children's father, Columbus Canada, who discovered his lifeless children in the bathtub, had been in an argument with Fleming the day before. He left home a day prior and had stayed in his car overnight, The Mail reported. Officials have not arrested the father nor do they believe he was involved in the murders. Witnesses living in the building told ABC that they heard the father screaming after discovering his son's body. "He was screaming hysterically. He was screaming, 'Help me!' And I came and opened my door and I see him coming down the hall with the two boys in his arms,” neighbor Shannon Holyfield the outlet.
However, Fleming, who has not yet been declared an official suspect, remains in custody as a person of interest in the case. No charges have been filed.