A mother accused of killing her 9-year-old daughter and her unborn baby lay in a hospital room this afternoon with a vacant expression on her face as a judge ordered her to undergo a 20-day mental competency assessment.
Fang Chi-Xue, 38, has been told that she faces a first-degree murder charge and other accusations, but according to her attorney, she seemed unable to comprehend what happened.
"She's been crying," said attorney Randy Gioia, who requested the mental competency assessment. "Just staring up into space with a blank look."
Chi-Xue was brought to Boston Medical Center to be treated for self-inflicted stab wounds after going on an alleged rampage against her children last night at the family's home at 20 Woodbine St. in Quincy. She is accused of trying to strangle her 14-year-old daughter; fatally stabbing the 9-year-old, Wen Xue; and then turning the knife on herself and killing her fetus.
After the hearing in the hospital room, Gioia said that his client did not have any puncture wounds in her abdomen and he was not sure how her baby died.
"It's just really sad, an extremely sad event," said Gioia, who described his client as a stay-at-home mom. "Unimaginable."
The family's father came home at 10:30 p.m., discovered the bloodshed, and called 911, said David Traub, a spokesman for the Norfolk district attorney's office. His name and the name of the surviving daughter were not released.
The violence appears to have been triggered by "domestic turmoil in the household" between Chi-Xue and her husband, Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating said.
The medical examiner is expected to perform autopsies today on the 9-year-old and the fetus.
The mother has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of assault with intent to murder. The medical examiner must determine if the fetus could have lived outside the womb before prosecutors can decide whether to charge the mother with murdering her unborn child.
Thats a medical determination made by the medical examiner, not by law enforcement, said Traub.
Neighbors said the family had moved into the home within the past three years, kept mostly to themselves, and appeared to speak Mandarin Chinese. They recalled sometimes seeing the mother and the 9-year-old walking hand-in-hand in the neighborhood, which is near Wollaston Station on the MBTA's Red Line.
One neighbor, Andy Welch, said he saw the third-grader yesterday walking to Wollaston Elementary School by herself.
She was wearing a pink jacket, Welch said. It's heartbreaking.
Norfolk County has seen a sharp spike in domestic violence, Keating said, with five deaths in the past 24 days and three more brutal attacks in which the victims narrowly survived.
"In the last decade, I can't recall in a short period of time in which so much [domestic violence] has occurred in our county," Keating said, adding, "I'm concerned. And everyone should be concerned."
What is the world coming to? I have come across some strange stuff writing my blog, but this is a first.
source
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment