Pennsylvania Babysitter Fatally Stabs Child's Mother After Splitting Weed Cookie With Her

KEY POINTS

The victim had known the suspect for seven years and had hired him to babysit her children
The suspect told the police the weed cookie gave him adverse reaction
The victim’s 10-year-old son was in the house during the stabbing but was unharmed

A Pennsylvania man was arrested for fatally stabbing the mother of a child he was babysitting after he split a marijuana-laced cookie with her.

Lavrius Watson, 26, called 911 Saturday night after the stabbing. While "audibly crying," he told the operator that he had killed 41-year-old Elizabeth Leonard with a knife at her Mountain Top home and asked for an ambulance. He told the operator that he could not remember where he left the knife.

Responding officers found Leonard sitting against the front door with multiple stab wounds to her abdomen. While kneeling outside, Watson said, "Why did I do that?"

Watson told the investigators that the edible he shared with Leonard gave him an adverse reaction. He then grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed her five times, according to the criminal complaint obtained by the Pocono Record.

According to the police, responding officers found a trail of blood from the kitchen to the front door where Leonard’s body was found. When officers arrived, Watson refused to come outside through the front door where Leonard’s body was. He used the back door and was found bloodied and kneeling on the ground.

Leonard knew Watson for seven years and had hired him to babysit two of her children. On the day of the incident, Leonard hired Watson to watch her 10-year-old son. Later, the duo split a weed cookie in the kitchen after dinner.

The victim’s son, who was elsewhere in the house during the stabbing, remained unharmed, the NY Daily News reported. The second child was not at the home during the incident.

The Luzerne County Coroner's Office confirmed Monday that Leonard died from multiple stab wounds.

The spokesperson for Pennsylvania's State Police, Trooper Anthony Petroski said that Leonard's death was an isolated incident and there is no threat to the public, the Record reported.

Watson has been charged with criminal homicide and is being held at the Luzerne County Prison. He has been denied bail and is currently awaiting his preliminary hearing on Oct. 28.

The incident is being investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police.