Police in Southern California have arrested a 43-year-old grandmother in the fatal stabbing of her 18-month-old granddaughter. It was not the suspect’s first attempt at hurting a child, and it remains unclear why she was free so soon after being sentenced on a double attempted murder conviction.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the baby’s mother and another 5-year-old-daughter were also wounded in the brutal attack which took place around 9 a.m. Monday morning.
Colton police officers arrived to an apartment on Monday morning in response to a call from a “hysterical female” saying her mother had stabbed her and her children, read a statement released by the Colton Police Department.
According to the Press-Enterprise, police found the 5-year-old bleeding from injuries and hiding in a closet.
When officers arrived, they located three female victims with multiple stab wounds. Eighteen-month-old Damani Trouter had already succumbed to her wounds and the other two victims were transported to a local hospital. The two surviving victims underwent surgery and were listed as stable Monday afternoon, according to the The Press Enterprise.
The suspect, Nicole Darrington Clark, had fled the scene by the time officers arrived. She was located Tuesday morning when a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy spotted her inside a parked vehicle around 4 a.m. When the deputy checked her status he learned she was wanted for the attack and she was subsequently taken in to custody, reported The Press Enterprise.
The crime was eerily reminiscent of Darrington Clark’s 2005 conviction on charges she stabbed her then 14-year-old son and threw her then 10-year-old daughter out of a van while driving on a freeway. Neither child was seriously injured in the incident, however Darrington Clark was charged with two counts of attempted murder and pled guilty.
It is unclear whether the daughter involved in the 2005 incident is the same one involved in this week’s attack.
Despite her plea, Inglewood County Superior Court Judge John Meigs ruled she was not guilty by reason of insanity and was remanded to Patton State Hospital to serve 34 years to life. She had reportedly released “a few years ago” according to a longtime friend of hers who spoke with The Press Enterprise.
Darrington Clark is being held in the West Valley Detention Center on suspicion of murder with bail set at $1 million, according to the police news release. She is due to appear in court on Thursday.
Photo: Colton Police Department
