Grandchildren: “Granny Just Killed Momma”
According to the Daily Mail, a grandmother was arrested after she ‘stabbed her daughter in the neck and killed her son’ while her two grandchildren, who were left covered in blood, watched.
Janel Charlene Francis, 45, is now facing charges of murder. She is accused of killing son Devan Francis, 18, and stabbing daughter Gabrielle Torrence, 24, in what started as a home dispute in Pensacola on Tuesday.
Making matters worse, Torrence’s two young children were in the mobile home at the time of the bloody attack. The four and five-year-old told a witness: ‘Granny just killed momma,’ said the Daily Mail.
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said the murder and attempted murder are for now being investigated and treated as a domestic violence incident. There is no motive for the incident yet.
According to police, the stabbings took place at the Heritage Oaks Mobile Home Park off of Gulf Beach Highway early Tuesday morning in Pensacola, Florida.
When police arrived Devan Francis was found dead in the front bedroom of the trailer. Torrence was found critically injured on the ground outside of the trailer and was being treated by neighbors.
Police say a witness rushed to the trailer to help when she heard screams and found Torrence laying in the street bleeding. The witness then saw the two young children screaming and crying “Granny just killed momma.”
In the witness’ statement, the children had blood on their clothes and feet. They were put into the care of their great-grandmother who also lives in the complex.
Police interviewed the children separately and were told by the children that Francis had killed their mom, Torrence, by “poking her in the neck with a knife.”
According to one child, she had been playing with her mom when Francis got a knife from the kitchen and stabbed Torrence in the neck while Torrence held her hands up. The child’s uncle, Devan Francis, then came into the room and was also stabbed by Francis.
The other child told police that he witnessed Francis stabbing herself in the chest and laying over Devan.
Torrence was taken to Baptist Hospital for trauma treatment. The incident report says Torrence made numerous statements saying her mother had stabbed and tried to kill her.
Torrence’s condition is unknown at the time. Francis was also taken to the hospital for treatment, but her condition is unknown as well.
Francis’ first court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 16th, said Pensacola News.