The DeKalb County teen accused of fatally stabbing her 2-year-old sister in the chest was showered with love Tuesday afternoon as a judge read her charge of murder.

“We love you,” the 13-year-old girl’s step-father Shelton Ray said loudly in the DeKalb magistrate courtroom, saying her name, and being parroted by her mother and aunts.

Then her mother burst into tears.

Police have charged the teen as an adult in the death of Sasha Ray.

“The cause of death is multiple stab wounds to the chest,” DeKalb County police spokeswoman Mekka Parish told reporters. “Detectives believe the 13-year-old attacked the child in the house then carried the body outside where it was discovered by her father.”

The teenager reportedly was babysitting her siblings Monday at the family’s condominium on Waldrop Trail near Decatur when the incident occurred.

Ray said he had been away from the house with his wife and left the teen in charge.

Emergency dispatchers received a call from Shelton Ray shortly before 1 p.m. on Monday, but then he put down the phone, Parish said.

Ray told Channel 2 Action News that he tried to take the child to the hospital himself.

He intercepted an emergency vehicle along the way, but it was too late.

“She died in my arms,” he said.

About the Author

Featured

The city of Brookhaven's mayor and City Council last week decided to remove the colored panes of glass from the dome of Brookhaven's new City Centre after residents objected to the brightness of the colors, seen here Friday, June 27, 2025. (Reed Williams/AJC)

Credit: Reed Williams/AJC