Police: Mom Slashed Children’s Throats to Keep Them Quiet

A Washington State mother of three has been charged with attempted murder after she allegedly tried to silence her three children—a two-year-old and two six-month-old twin babies—by slashing their throats with a kitchen knife.

When Olympia, Washington, officers arrived at Christina and Thomas Booth’s home, they discovered a bloody scene. According to CNN, police said the couple’s two-year-old daughter was found upstairs in her bed, covered in dry blood, and the twin babies were on the couch crying “uncontrollably” with blood dripping from their necks.

The children were immediately taken to the hospital where they underwent surgery. They have since recovered and have been placed in protective custody. Their mother remains jailed with a $3 million bail. During the 911 call, Booth could reportedly be heard weeping and saying she didn’t want her kids to die.

Christina, who had reportedly been taking medication for postpartum depression, told authorities she “hit her breaking point” on Saturday night when her twins started crying while she was attempting to put them to bed, notes CNN. Probable cause documents that were filed indicated that the mother had admitted to committing the near-fatal crime, stating that “she knew if she killed all the kids the house would be quiet for Thomas.”

Her husband Thomas, who CNN described as an active-duty soldier who was recently deployed overseas, was not charged in the incident. Christina Booth and her husband had finished the equivalent of a big bottle of wine, and the probable cause documents that were filed indicated that both of them were “intoxicated” at the time of the incident.

During her police interview, Booth had complained about her husband’s lack of involvement in helping with the children, conveying that he would become irritated when they cried. Her husband also noted in the filing that she would take “the children out of his presence” when they would cry.

In interviews with CNN, the couple’s neighbors described Christina as a loving mom and expressed shock when they heard about what had transpired. “I would have never suspected that she would be a person to take this kind of a drastic action. I can’t imagine what stress she must have been under to cause her to do such a thing,” one neighbor reportedly said.

Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter: @AdelleNaz.