MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Sheriff's officials in West Tennessee say deputies found a large butcher knife with what appeared to be blood on it in an apartment where a mother killed her four children by cutting their throats.
Court documents say 29-year-old Shanynthia Gardner has been charged with four counts of first degree murder while committing aggravated child neglect in the deaths of her three daughters and one son — all under the age of 5.
Their bodies were found after deputies entered her apartment in a gated community in unincorporated Shelby County on Friday. Neighbors and family friends attended a vigil to honor the victims on Saturday.
Gardner also faces four counts of first degree murder while committing aggravated child abuse; four counts of aggravated child neglect or endangerment; and four counts of aggravated child abuse.