Woman arrested in killing of 3 children at Texas home
DALLAS – A woman is accused in the killing of three children at a home in the Ellis County city of Italy on Friday after a Child Protective Services investigator decided to remove the children, the Ellis County sheriff’s office said Saturday.
Two other children were found wounded in the home, deputies said.
Shamaiya Hall, 25 of Forney, Texas, was booked into the Ellis County jail about 11 p.m. Friday on three capital murder charges, according to jail records. A judge issued a $2 million bond for each of the charges, the sheriff’s office said. It is unclear if Hall has an attorney.
Deputies did not say whether or how Hall and the children are related.
A 6-year-old boy, along with two 5-year-old twins – a boy and a girl – were killed in the incident. A 13-month-old girl and 4-year-old boy were seriously wounded and taken to hospitals in Fort Worth and Dallas, Ellis County deputies said.
Officials have not identified the three children who were killed, and have not said how were killed.
“We ask for you to keep the family, the community of Italy, and First Responders in your thoughts and prayers during this tragic time,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The horrific slayings stunned Italy – a city of about 2,000 people, about 40 miles south of downtown Dallas – which has been described as a quiet and tight-knit town.
Officers were Friday seen shuffling in and out of Stafford Elementary School, near the home. Several homes along the street were cordoned off with police tape.
At about 4 p.m. Friday, authorities responded to a home in the 300 block of South Harris Street, near Stafford Elementary School, and found the three victims dead inside. Two other children who were seriously wounded were taken to hospitals, deputies said.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services was assisting with the investigation into the deaths of the children, who had been placed with a relative.
Italy police responded after the Child Protective Services caseworker called 911, deputies said. Italy police contacted the sheriff’s office to lead the investigation, Ellis County sheriff’s Deputy Jerry Cozby said Friday night.