Man stabs Philadelphia mom to death in front of six children on Christmas morning, teen son survives injuries
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: A Philadelphia woman was stabbed and killed in front of six children living with her on Christmas morning. Police say the man who stabbed her was either her husband or her ex-husband.
The horrific incident unfolded at a home on the 5600 Block of North Mascher Street in Olney around 3.30 am on December 25, according to WPVI.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found a 35-year-old woman lying on a street outside the home, suffering from multiple stab wounds and a 33-year-old man standing over her. She was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The man was taken into police custody.
Inside the home, they found a 14-year-old boy, who was the woman's son. He too was bleeding heavily after suffering stab wounds to this thigh. He was taken to a hospital and was operated on the same morning.
There were a total of six children between the ages of 8 and 16, all believed to be related to one another in some way, living at the residence. Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small confirmed that they had all witnessed at least part of the incident.
Small said the children identified the 33-year-old man as the suspect and said the altercation started inside the home before it eventually spilled out into the street. The suspect had reportedly stabbed the mother inside the property, chased her outside, and continued to stab her.
"It's pretty clear from the crime scene inside that everything happened initially inside. We found a crime scene on the second floor, as well as on the first floor, which consisted of a large amount of blood, there's also broken glass, there's also overturned furniture. So there was clearly a violent struggle inside," Small said.
Police said one of the children had then taken the murder weapon, a butcher knife with a 10-inch blade, and hidden it in a second-floor bedroom so the suspect would not stab anyone else.
The suspect had suffered cuts to his hands and was taken to the hospital briefly for treatment before being transferred to police headquarters for questioning. Police said he had been heavily drinking and that preliminary information indicated that he and the victim are or at one time were husband and wife.