Brockton Mom Says Sons' Deaths Were Part Of Ritual: Prosecutor

BROCKTON, MA — A woman charged with stabbing her two sons to death told police it was part of a voodoo ritual, according to a prosecutor with the Plymouth County District Attorney's office. Latarsha Sanders, 43, appeared in Brockton District Court Tuesday, where she pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder. She was ordered held without bail.

Authorities were at Sanders' apartment in a triple-decker on Prospect Street Monday afternoon after she asked a neighbor to call 911 for her. Officers found the bodies of her two sons after a neighbor told police that Sanders had kids living there. Cruz said Monday that the 5- and 8-year-old boys were stabbed to death by their mother, identified as Sanders. The 8-year-old suffered 50 stab wounds, according to prosecutors.

Sanders left her home in an ambulance, but never mentioned her sons. She allegedly put the boys in separate beds, placed sheets over them, and put the knife used to stab them in the kitchen sink.

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"When something as tragic as this occurs, we're all left wondering how, why something like this happens. This was gruesome disturbing heartbreaking crime,” Cruz said Monday.

Sanders allegedly told police she attacked her 8-year-old son, Edson "Marlon" Brito, with a kitchen knife as part of a ritual but failed, so she attacked her 5-year-old son, Lason Brito, assistant Plymouth District Attorney Jessica Kenny told a judge during the arraignment.

The case remains under investigation. Investigators said they had no reason to believe there was any immediate danger to others in the neighborhood and that there was no lockdown for those residents.

Reporting from the Associated Press was used in this story.

Image Credit: Marc Vasconcellos/The Enterprise via AP, Pool