Christmas Party Turns Into Tragedy When Mother Stabbed To Death In Front Of Children In Olney: Philadelphia Police
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A mother was stabbed to death in front of her children when a Christmas party turned into tragedy in Olney on Wednesday morning. Her teenage son is fighting for his life after being stabbed trying to defend her.
"She was a good mom," neighbor Christopher Tino said.
A "good mom" lost her life in a violent struggled and stabbing inside her home on the 5600 block of North Mascher Street around 3:30 a.m.
From the outside, you can see Christmas lights hanging, but inside, police found a bloody mess.
"She was stabbed multiple times in her abdomen," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said. "For this to happen early on Christmas morning. On a day that should be a family day, a peaceful day, it just makes it that much more hard to conceive it. It makes it that much more hard to understand."
Police say a violent fight broke out between the 35-year-old victim and a 33-year-old man they say was her boyfriend.
According to police, the suspect was drinking heavily during a family party inside the home when he began fighting with other guests before turning his attention to the victim and her 14-year-old son. The suspect grabbed a knife from the kitchen when the teen attempted to disarm him.
The suspect then stabbed the teen in his right thigh, police say. He then got another knife and stabbed the woman and chased her outside.
When police arrived on the scene, they found the woman lying on the road in a pool of blood just feet away from her home. Investigators say she was rushed to Einstein Medical Center, where she later died.
Police say the suspect was arrested inside the home.
"It's pretty clear from the crime scene inside everything happened initially inside," Small said. "We found a crime scene on the second floor as well as the first floor, which consisted of a large amount of blood. There's also broken glass and there's also overturned and broken furniture."
The teen boy was also taken to the hospital, where he was placed in critical condition.
"Before taking him to the hospital, they put a tourniquet to his side because he was bleeding so heavily," Scott said.
Authorities believe six children, whose ages range from 8 to 16 years, woke up as their mother tried to fight off the suspect.
Neighbors say the suspect tried hiding the woman's body.
"The man tried hiding the woman under the car that red car right there with the blood under," Tino said. "The lady was crying for help, but the guy was with the knife right there. She couldn't do anything."
Officials have not released either of the victims' or suspect's identities.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner tweeted he's heartbroken and reminded everyone about the city's 24-hour domestic violence hotline. The phone number for the hotline is 1-866-723-3014.
CBS3's Matt Petrillo contributed to this report.
