Police: Mom Stabs, Kills Her Two Children

AUGUSTA, Ga -- A 22-year-old woman fatally stabbed her two children, 1 and 3, inside a convenience store bathroom Thursday, police said.

A worker at the Food Mart store in south Augusta told police she saw the woman enter the restroom with the two children, a boy and girl, and then heard a scream, Richmond County Sheriff Ronnie Strength said.

 

The worker called 911, and when deputies arrived they forced the door open and found the woman on the floor, holding a steak knife and covered in the children's blood.

 

Jordon Hawes, 1, and Shakayla Hawes, 3, were pronounced dead upon arrival at the Medical College of Georgia Hospital.

 

Both died of multiple stab wounds to the chest, Chief Deputy Coroner Mark Bowen said.

 

Jeanette Michelle Hawes was charged with two counts of murder and with possession of a knife during the commission of a crime. She was lodged in the Richmond County Jail. Personnel at the jail said they did not know if the woman had obtained an attorney, and other county officials could not be reached.

 

"Michelle went to the bathroom and I heard the children crying," said store clerk Amanda Thomas.

 

A moment later, Thomas said, "I heard a different sound that didn't sound right. I went back there to get the door opened and I couldn't get it opened and I didn't hear anything."

 

Thomas and two other customers in the store said they weren't sure what to do when they heard the screaming, the television station said.

 

She said Hawes was a regular customer and seemed different when she entered the store Thursday.

 

"I felt something wasn't right about her. I had no idea she did anything to those kids," Thomsas said.

 

As police led her out, Thomas said Hawes appeared detatched.

 

"She wasn't crying. she didn't show any emotion," she said.

 

A witness, Sheila Langston, said she saw one of the children being removed in a bag.

 

`The mother didn't have any remorse. She wasn't crying, nothing," Langston said.