{"id":1845,"date":"2025-07-06T22:49:57","date_gmt":"2025-07-06T22:49:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1845"},"modified":"2025-07-06T22:49:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-06T22:49:57","slug":"mom-thought-children-were-possessed-by-devil-before-stabbing-them-prosecutors-say-this-is-pure-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1845","title":{"rendered":"Mom thought children were possessed by devil before stabbing them, prosecutors say: ‘This is pure violence’"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Convinced her children were possessed by the devil, a Logan Square woman allegedly fatally stabbed her 4-year-old son 36 times and critically wounded her two other children before setting fire to their home Friday morning, Cook County prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

Wendy Tolbert, 46, was charged with 14 felony counts, including first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and arson. Cook County Judge James Murphy ordered Tolbert held until trial.<\/p>\n

Tolbert also allegedly stabbed her 10-year-old son in the arm and her 13-year-old daughter several times in the face, chest and back, prosecutors said. The boy has since been released from the hospital. The girl underwent several surgeries and remains intubated in critical condition, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

Tolbert was distraught throughout Sunday\u2019s hearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a dream. This is not real,\u201d she said as prosecutors outlined the case. She held her hands over her ears, sobbed several times and could be heard saying the word \u201cno\u201d repeatedly. Several relatives were in court, some gasping and crying as details were recounted. <\/p>\n

On Friday morning, Tolbert\u2019s 10-year-old son was playing video games at their Logan Square home in the 3600 block of West Palmer Street, prosecutors said. His 4-year-old brother, Jordan Walker, was asleep next to him on the couch.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors say Tolbert came up from behind the boys, holding a knife in one hand and a metal blade in the other and stabbed the older child in the arm. The boy got up and ran to the basement. Jordan, now awake, tried to follow his brother.<\/p>\n

Tolbert followed and kicked Jordan down the basement stairs, prosecutors said. She then stabbed Jordan 36 times in the face, chest and back. Tolbert also attacked her daughter, stabbing her several times.<\/p>\n

At some point, prosecutors said the girl and boy were able to get to their bedrooms. They communicated through the wall to try to figure out how to escape. The girl also called 911 twice, telling dispatchers that her mom was trying to kill her and her brothers.<\/p>\n

When police arrived, they found Tolbert covered in blood and carrying a knife in one hand and a flaming paper towel in the other, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

Officers heard her son calling for help from inside and saw smoke coming from the home. They had to break several windows to get into the apartment. They found Jordan and the girl unresponsive. All three kids were taken to Stroger Hospital, where Jordan was pronounced dead.<\/p>\n

Tolbert admitted to cops that she attacked her children, telling them she believed they were possessed by the devil, prosecutors said. After she was arrested, she was taken to Community First Medical Center for a psychiatric evaluation.<\/p>\n

The two youngest childrens\u2019 grandparents, Julius and Debra Davis, told the Sun-Times<\/a> on Sunday that Tolbert had taken away the kids\u2019 phones before attacking them. The Davises said they never imagined Tolbert could harm her children. Her daughter remains unconscious in the ICU, Julius Davis said.<\/p>\n

Tolbert \u201cfinally realized what she\u2019s done,\u201d Julius Davis said after being told of Tolbert\u2019s remarks in court. \u201cShe shouldn\u2019t see the light of day again. What she did was heinous. \u2026 There are many relatives who would\u2019ve taken those children instead of putting them through this foolishness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only have the children lost their younger brother and mother, but the fire destroyed everything inside their home. The grandparents are reaching out to the Red Cross to get the kids clothing, and they have started a fund to pay for burial services for Jordan.<\/p>\n

A GoFundMe<\/a> has also been started for Tolbert\u2019s next-door neighbors, whose home was destroyed after the fire spread to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all still reeling, we\u2019re trying to figure out how to move forward,\u201d Julius Davis said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to figure out how to put our lives together, but more importantly, put the kids\u2019 lives back together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Debra Davis added: \u201cOur baby is gone. It\u2019s just too painful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prosecutors on Sunday said Tolbert has a history of mental illness and was recently diagnosed with cancer, but they did not share any specifics. She doesn\u2019t have a job and depends on food stamps and supplemental security income, her public defender said.<\/p>\n

Tolbert allegedly set three separate fires in the home using lighter fluid and rubbing alcohol, prosecutors said. <\/p>\n

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A Chicago Fire Department ladder truck douses flames on an upper floor of a Logan Square residence Friday morning. Authorities say a woman who stabbed her three children in the brick home next door set fire to her home, and the flames spread to a neighboring home. Two residents in the second home were treated for smoke inhalation.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The fire spread to her upstairs\u2019 neighbors apartment and to the house next door, where the roof collapsed. A 31-year-old woman and a 34-year-old man in the neighboring home were treated for smoke inhalation and taken to Stroger in fair condition. One of the officers who rescued the children was also hospitalized in fair condition for smoke inhalation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is pure violence,\u201d the judge said. \u201cNot only are you a danger to your children, but to the other residents in that building, your neighbors and the police officers responding.\u201d <\/p>\n

Tolbert\u2019s next court date is Monday. <\/p>\n

Contributing: Mariah Rush<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n