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.
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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.”
3651 Palmer. Medical call turned into 2-11 fire. One exposure at 3653 pic.twitter.com/QDhrrzosx1
— Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) July 4, 2025
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.
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