‘Mom’ decapitates 7-year-old son with kitchen knife: Police

An upstate New York mother is accused of decapitating her 7-year-old son with a kitchen knife earlier this week, the Watertown Daily Times reports.

Hanane Mouhib, 36, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the slaying of her son, Abraham Cardenas.

Authorities on Thursday night responded to a 911 call reporting that Mouhib was suicidal and armed with a knife.

Officers reportedly ordered her to drop the knife, and when she didn’t, they Tasered her and deployed pepper spray.

Police later searched the residence and discovered Abraham’s body, which had stab wounds around his back and neck; his head also was separated from his body.

Court records obtained by the newspaper show Mouhib stabbed the child with a “large-bladed kitchen knife.”

There were no signs of a struggle inside the home and no known motive thus far, police say. Also in the house at the time of the incident were Mouhib’s husband, his mother and the victim’s 10-year-old brother.

Mouhib has a history of mental health issues and officers had been called to the home twice within the last month.

Mouhib dialed 911 on March 5 and sought help for a mental health problem, the newspaper reports. Three days later, a second call came in that resulted in Mouhib getting a mental health evaluation at a hospital, where she was later admitted and then discharged on March 26.

Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter said he could not fathom why the mother gruesomely killed her son, but he indicated the woman’s mental health may have played a role.

“Evil comes to my mind,” Baxter said. “There was mental hygiene issues, there’s just so many things. This was a mother who took her son’s life, we believe, and with that I have no explanation — we’ll never be able to reconcile that in our heads.”

Mouhib was arraigned Friday and remains in jail without bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 11. She faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

Abraham was in first grade and attended Barclay Elementary School in Brockport, which is about 20 miles northwest of Rochester.

Brockport Central School District Superintendent Dr. Lesli Myers said students and staff are mourning Abraham’s death.

“He was incredibly vibrant, he was an engaged learner and he was beloved by his teachers and our school community,” Myers said. “He lit up a room anytime he entered it, so we too are extremely saddened at the death of Abraham.”

 

[Feature image: Hanane Mouhib/Monroe County Sheriff’s Office]