N.M. mother accused of fatally stabbing her young daughter in the chest
10/31/2022 12:55 pm PDT
SHIPROCK, N.M. (TCD) -- A 32-year-old mother stands accused of fatally stabbing her young daughter in the chest.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico, on Oct. 24, one of Maylene John’s family members reportedly heard a child’s scream for help and had to kick open the locked bedroom door to get inside. Inside the bedroom, the family member reportedly found the child "lying on the floor with a stab wound to the torso, and saw John allegedly sitting at the foot of the bed holding a knife."
The victim was believed to be 6 or 7 years old, the Albuquerque Journal reports.
The family member, John’s brother, reportedly tried to apply pressure to the wound with a blanket to stop the bleeding. John allegedly held a knife to her neck, and her brother had to force her to drop the weapon. The brother then reportedly "threw the knife out of the room."
According to the Attorney’s Office, the suspect’s brother rushed to the neighbor’s house, who called for help. John was reportedly taken into custody, and the child was pronounced dead by emergency medical services at 3:24 a.m.
The little girl was reportedly a member of the Navajo Nation.
Authorities recovered the bloodied knife, a stuffed animal, and a blood-stained blanket, the Albuquerque Journal reports.
John allegedly suffers from past drug addiction issues and had been in and out of rehabilitation.
Her brother reportedly told authorities that John had "suicidal tendencies sporadically for the past 10 years." However, according to the Albuquerque Journal, John’s brother said she was acting normal before bed that night.
In an interview, John said she smoked methamphetamine earlier in the day and "could not recall much of the day," the Albuquerque Journal reports, but she "instantly felt hurt because she caused her daughter pain" after the alleged stabbing.
On Thursday, Oct. 27, the Attorney’s Office announced that John appeared in court and was charged with murder. She was reportedly scheduled to appear in court again for a detention hearing on Oct. 31.
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