A mother in Texas is facing a trio of capital murder charges after she allegedly stabbed five of her children, killing three of them.
The attack took place on Friday in Italy, Texas, approximately 40 miles south of Dallas.
Shamaiya Hall, 25, has been charged with three counts of capital murder and is being held on a $6m bond, according to WFAA-TV.
Child Protective Services had previously put Ms Hall's children under the guardianship of another relative. Agency officials began to suspect that Ms Hall was having unsupervised visits with her children, and so CSP workers were dispatched to her home unannounced.
The CSP officials' hunch was confirmed — Ms Hall's children were inside the house with her — but their arrival also triggered Ms Hall's alleged attacks.
She allegedly stabbed all five of her children — whose ages range from 13 months to six-years-old — killing her five-year-old twins and her oldest child, according to authorities.
Police found the bodies of the children while searching Ms Hall's home. The four-year-old and the 13-month-old were life-flighted to nearby hospitals to have their wounds treated.
"We are shocked by this incomprehensible tragedy, and already working with law enforcement to investigate how this happened, and why," CPS told WFAA.
Ms Hall has had previous violent episodes in the past; according to court documents, she was arrested in 2017 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after she was accused of stabbing her sister's boyfriend.
Her half-sister, Troyshaye Mone Hall, was also arrested in 2021 for allegedly stabbing her seven-year-old daughter to death.
The school district in Italy, Texas, issued a statement confirming that counselors would be available on Monday.
