Woman stabs children as house burns around them, killing four, Georgia sheriff says
Several children are dead after a knife-wielding Georgia woman attacked them inside a burning home on Friday, June 24, investigators say.
Responding to calls about domestic abuse and a house fire at the same location, Paulding County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived to a “chaotic scene” at an address in Rockmart after 9 p.m.
Deputies and firefighters entered the home where 7 children were trapped, with 40-year-old Darlene Brister, who investigators say was trying to stab the children to death as the house burned around them.
Two were found dead at the home and three were taken to a hospital, the sheriff’s office said. Another two were apparently unharmed.
Two of the hospitalized children later died, bringing the total loss of life to four, TV station WSB reported.
Neighbors said Brister and the children rarely, if ever, spoke with other residents, WSB reported.
Brister was arrested at the scene and is facing two charges of malice murder, the sheriff’s office said. She is being held at the Paulding County Detention Center.
An investigation is still ongoing and more charges are “likely” to be brought, the sheriff said.
Rockmart is about 47 miles northwest of Atlanta.
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