13-year-old Pennsylvania girl charged with her mom's murder after argument
A 13-year-old girl accused of killing her mom following a dispute over a cell phone was arrested in Pennsylvania, police and local outlets reported.
The Wilkes-Barre City Police Department said officers responded to a call for an unresponsive woman at around 12:30 p.m. on Friday. Officers who arrived on the scene found a 44-year-old woman with apparent wounds to her torso and head. They also found another person with stab wounds and a 13-year-old, who was detained.
The child was charged as an adult and incarcerated. She faces criminal homicide and aggravated assault charges.
Police did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for additional information and the arrest warrant, however, several local outlets reported that the 13-year-old daughter in the case had fatally stabbed her mom following an argument.
'I'm the reason my mom is dead,' teen says
While in custody, the child told police: “I don’t have my phone because my mom took it before our fight,” and “I’m the reason my mom is dead,” WBRE/WYOU reported, citing an affidavit.
Police said the coroner’s office pronounced the mother dead at the scene and an autopsy is pending.
WNEP reported that an 11-year-old boy in the home was also found with stab wounds, but is expected to survive.
The teen told police that she threw the knife used to stab her mom towards a neighbor's home.
Investigators said they found padlocks on the kitchen cabinets and drawers in the home, the outlet reported.
A drawer used to store cutlery appeared to be missing and its padlock was found on the ground, local outlets reported.