Trending Topics

‘Pure evil': Chicago mom stabs son 26 times, sets home on fire

Chicago mother accused of fatally stabbing 4-year-old, injuring 2 other children says they were “possessed”

By Mike Stunson
The Peninsula Gateway

CHICAGO — A mother accused of stabbing her three children, killing her 4-year-old son, told authorities her kids were “possessed by the devil,” according to Illinois authorities and news reports.

The boy’s 10-year-old brother and 13-year-old sister were also stabbed July 4 before their mother set fire to their Chicago home, police said, according to WMAQ. The older children were rescued from the burning house in the Logan Square neighborhood.

| READ NEXT: Fire as a weapon: Know the ABCs

Officers discovered their 45-year-old mother’s clothes covered in blood as she held a knife, WLS reported. She was arrested at the scene.

McClatchy News is not naming the mother to protect the identities of the children.

Her 10-year-old son had been playing video games with his 4-year-old brother sleeping beside him when their mother came in and stabbed the older sibling, according to court documents obtained by WFLD.

“The 10-year-old ran to the stairs, turned around, and saw the 4-year-old trying to run, but (their mother) followed and stabbed him before she kicked the child in the back, causing him to fall down the stairs,” WBBM reported. “She stabbed him 36 times in the face, neck, and chest.”

The two older siblings began communicating with one another between a shared wall before the 13-year-old called 911, telling dispatchers her mother was trying to kill them, prosecutors said, according to the Chicago Sun Times .

Police said the 10-year-old suffered serious injuries when he was stabbed in the arm, according to WMAQ. The 13-year-old was stabbed “in the face, back and chest, and was hospitalized in critical condition.”

Their 4-year-old brother died at a hospital, WFLD reported.

The mother is accused of setting fire to the home, and it took firefighters more than two hours to extinguish the blaze, WGN reported.

Interviewed by investigators, the mom admitted to stabbing her children because they were “possessed by the devil,” prosecutors said, according to WLS.

Her actions were described by a judge as “pure evil,” WBBM reported.

The mother is reportedly charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, felony aggravated arson and aggravated battery.

Trending
Dallas Assistant Fire Chief Lauren Johnson has been named the next chief of Portland Fire & Rescue, becoming only the third woman and third external hire to lead the department
Flooding from Tropical Storm Chantal’s remnants displaced over 60 people in central North Carolina, prompting more than 50 water rescues in Chapel Hill
Score discounted duty gear, workout tools and everyday essentials July 8-11 with our curated list of budget-friendly buys
Austin Fire Chief Joel Baker defended his decisions after the firefighters’ union accused him of preventing rescue crews from assisting with deadly Kerr County flooding

© 2025 The Peninsula Gateway (Gig Harbor, Wash.). Visit www.thenewstribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.