Suspect in custody for 3 fatal stabbings in Tenn. home, police say

(CBS/AP) NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A woman, her teenage son and her mother were fatally stabbed in their suburban Nashville home Sunday by a man who lived nearby, authorities said.

"The scene is very bloody," police spokesman Don Aaron said. "It's not something that you see in Nashville."

The bodies of 48-year-old Michelle Pinkowski; her son, 14-year-old Jonathan Culpepper; and her mother, Marylea Jordan, were discovered around 3 a.m. Sunday at the Bellevue home, Aaron said.

Police said Pinkowski's 9-year-old daughter witnessed at least one of the killings and ran out of the house and got a neighbor to call the authorities.

Aaron said when officers arrived at the home a bloodied Craig Garber, who had self-inflicted stab wounds, answered the door and told officers to "just kill me."

Garber, 41, was in stable condition Sunday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Police said he is a suspect in the three deaths and lived a few doors down from the family. Aaron said Garber is known to have "emotional issues."

Aaron said Garber and Pinkowski were seen together on his porch around 11 p.m. Saturday. He said the two may have gone to Pinkowski's home, to her finished basement, which is where her body was found.

Police believe Garber then went upstairs and killed the boy in his bedroom and then Jordan. Aaron said the young daughter, who was sleeping on the couch, saw her grandmother get stabbed and fled out a back door to seek help from a neighbor, who called 911.

The neighbor got a gun and rushed to the girl's home, where he saw Garber walking around inside, police said.

"The way she was screaming and crying saying, 'He's killing her, he's killing her!' I just ran," neighbor Jason Zimmerman said.

The neighbor said he backed away from the home when he heard sirens.

Aaron said police are trying to get warrants to search the homes of both the victims and the suspect. Police are also trying to determine a motive.