Girl stabbed to death by mother found positioned in a recliner, warrants say
A Sandy Springs mother fatally stabbed her 11-year-old daughter, whose body police found cleaned and placed in a living room recliner, according to Fulton County court documents.
Warrants released Tuesday for Shannen Grimes, 52, detail the violent scene officers walked into three days earlier at a gated condominium just north of I-285.
She is charged with two counts of murder in the death of her daughter, Genesis, as well as first-degree cruelty to children, tampering with evidence and possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony.
On Saturday morning, Shannen Grimes’ sister called police to request a wellness check after she said she received “concerning communications” from Grimes about an attempted suicide.
According to the warrants, Sandy Springs officers arrived at the Laurel Grove Condominiums on Carpenter Drive around 10:45 a.m. There, they found Grimes, who had injured herself, lying on a couch. Next to her in a recliner lay her daughter with a blanket or towel covering her legs, the warrant said. The girl was dead and “cold to the touch,” investigators noted.
When police asked what happened to the child, “Grimes responded something to the effect of, ‘I happened,’” the warrant states. Investigators later found “at least four puncturing wounds” around both sides of the girl’s neck.
“It is believed that the decedent was cleaned and positioned in the recliner,” investigators wrote.
Grimes was taken to a hospital. While en route, she told ambulance personnel “she stabbed the decedent in the neck,” the warrant states.
The mother was ultimately admitted into the hospital and sedated, according to the court document. Detectives were unable to speak with her until later.
In the meantime, authorities secured a search warrant for the home and found evidence of an attempt to clean up the scene, including in the mother’s bedroom, bathroom and closet, court records state.
Officials have not said if they have determined a motive.
Grimes was released from the hospital Monday evening and booked into the Fulton jail Tuesday. She is being held without bond.
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.
