Boy Stabbed by Grandmother Begged for Life

A Tallahassee grandmother has been charged in the Tuesday morning death of her 7-year-old grandson.

Leon County Sheriff’s investigators say Martha White, 64, was at the child’s house along with his 8-year-old brother. White told the boy, Mason Rhinehart, she had a surprise for him and then took him into a bathroom and locked the door, First Coast News is reporting.

The boy’s brother then heard his crying sibling say, “I don’t want to die, please don’t kill me.” The older child called his father and then hid, First Coast News reported.

When they responded to the home, Leon County deputies say the boy had been stabbed multiple times in the chest, according to a media release. The child was taken to a hospital, but did not survive his injuries.

Deputies caught up with White about a half-mile from the boys’ home, WPTV reported. She was covered in blood.

White was taken to a nearby hospital for an evaluation before being booked into the Leon County Jail. She was charged with premeditated homicide, according to jail records. No bond has been set.

This isn’t the first case of its kind in recent times. Alfreda Giedrojc of Chicago was charged in in the death of her 6-month-old granddaughter in 2013. Police there say the woman used a sledgehammer and knife to kill the infant.

Photo Credit: Martha White/Leon County Sheriff’s Office