A 25-year-old woman has been charged with capital murder for the deaths of three children on Friday. Family members say she was the mother of the kids who were killed.
Shamaiya Deyonshana Hall, 25, was charged with three counts of capital murder in the horrifying Friday slaughter, and held on $2 million bond on each charge, the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Hall allegedly went on a stabbing spree when a Child Protective Services caseworker — who thought the mom might be having unsupervised visits with her kids — showed up unannounced, WFAA reported.
CPS had previously given guardianship of the children — all under 6 — to another relative.
The caseworker called 911 around 4 p.m. Friday after finding the young victims inside the home in the small town of Italy, about 40 miles south of Dallas.
Three children, a 6-year-old boy and a 5-year-old boy and girl who were twins, were pronounced dead at the scene.
A 4-year-old boy and 13-month-old girl were taken to hospitals in Dallas and Fort Worth.
Shamelia Anderson, a relative of the victims, told the outlet the children attended the elementary school across the street from the house.
“They gained their wings,” Anderson said. “Those were beautiful little babies.”
Italy Independent School District Superintendent Rachel Kistner said the district is “deeply saddened by the tragedy that occurred off-campus” and is working with law enforcement in their probe.
“Words cannot express the overwhelming grief felt by the district and the community hearing of such a tragedy,” Kistner said in a statement. “We are a tight-knit, small community and as such many students will be impacted by this incident.”
Counseling will be available throughout this week, Kistner said.
During a Friday news conference, Sheriff’s Deputy Jerry Cozby said there was no threat to the community, and that the bloody attack was an “isolated incident.”
The Ellis County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation with help from the Texas Rangers.
