Mother Slits Throats Of 3 Children With Machete, Kills Them Over Financial Troubles

A mother in Indonesia allegedly killed her three children with a machete over financial troubles.

The 30-year-old, who has not been identified, lived in a house in North Sumatra with her husband, their parents, three toddler sons and another older child. The incident took place last week when the victims’ older sibling, father and grandparents were not in the house, the Jakarta Post reported.

When the victims' older sibling and grandparents returned home the same day, they found the three children dead with their throats slit. The victims were 5, 4 and 2 years old, Nias police spokesperson Yansen Hulu told the Jakarta Post.

“The mother killed the three victims at once, after which the perpetrator lay down beside the victims holding a machete,” Yansen told reporters.

The victims’ older sibling called his father after finding the children dead. The father rushed to the home and police was alerted, following which the mother was arrested and the machete used to commit the murder was also seized.

Paramedics took the bodies of the toddlers to Gunungsitoli Regional Hospital for autopsy.

“The initial investigation suggests that the perpetrator killed her children because of economic pressures,” Yansen said.

Irna Minauli, a psychologist from Medan Area University, told the Jakarta Post it is likely the mother was suffering from post-partum depression and police must carry out a psychological examination to confirm the same.

“Often, people with post-partum depression will develop schizophrenia and they will experience hallucinations and delusions. They will start hearing whispers telling them to end the lives of themselves or [others],” she said.

In a recent incident, a woman was charged for stabbing her two children to death in her home in Georgia. According to reports, the accused – Berenice Jaramillo-Hernandez, 26, of Gainesville – killed her children and then tried to end her own life. The victims were identified as 5-year-old Mateo Miranda Jaramillo and 6-year-old Katherine Miranda Jaramillo.

The stabbing incident came to light after police received a 911 call. When deputies arrived at the scene, they found two children dead and a woman with serious injuries. Jaramillo-Hernandez was rushed to a hospital. She was later arrested and charged with two counts each of felony murder, malice murder and aggravated assault.