Crying Teenage Daughter Flees Into Street With Knife In Windgap
POSTED: 4:39 pm EST March 7, 2010
UPDATED: 6:31 pm EST March 8, 2010
PITTSBURGH -- A 7-year-old boy called Pittsburgh 911 for help, saying his father attacked him and his sister -- who ran to a nearby home for safety -- and stabbed his mother at their home in the Windgap neighborhood.
WTAE Channel 4's Janelle Hall said police asked Mara Knox who stabbed her, and moments later, she said her husband's name -- Anthony -- before having trouble breathing and being unable to speak. She died not long after at a hospital.
Jerome Hartwell said he was washing his car in his driveway at 1 p.m. Sunday when he saw the Knoxes' teenage daughter crying, not wearing a shirt, carrying a bloody knife that police think was the murder weapon.
"Basically, it blew my mind seeing her like that," Hartwell said. "I just couldn't turn my back on her. When I seen her like that, she had the knife in her hand and I said, 'Put the knife down, put it down, and come on in the house.'"
According to the criminal complaint, the girl told police that she saw her father stab her 41-year-old mother at home on Haven Street and wriggled free after the father chased her around the house and grabbed her shirt.
Slideshow - Photos From The Stabbing Scene Video - 
Neighbor Tells Channel 4 Action News What Happened The 13-year-old girl said she had been grabbed by the throat and hit repeatedly on the head with a hammer, police said.
"I didn't know if her dad was still looking for her or not so I wanted to get her off the street," Hartwell said. "She kept on crying about her little brother -- 'Is my little brother OK?'"
Pittsburgh police said they believe Knox stabbed his wife and then turned the knife on himself following a domestic dispute inside their house Sunday afternoon.
Mara Knox died from stab wounds while in emergency treatment at Allegheny General Hospital, according to police. Anthony Knox was listed in critical condition with what police believe to be self-inflicted knife injuries.
The couple's 7-year-old son, according to police, was also attacked by his father but was able to dial 911 before running out the garage door to safety when officers arrived. He and his sister were rushed to Children’s Hospital and were listed in stable condition.
"Never would have expected this to happen. They just seemed so perfect," said Mara Knox's niece, Kalyn Dyer.
Police said Anthony Knox is charged with homicide, attempted homicide and aggravated assault. Court records show a preliminary hearing is scheduled on March 12.
Pittsburgh Public Schools officials released a statement on Monday expressing sadness -- not only for the two children and students involved, but also for Mara Knox, who had been an employee with the school district since 2003 and most recently served as the secretary in the main office of Milliones 6-12.
The school said grief counselors have been sent to the children's school to help students affected by Knox's death.
"I never knew the family at all, but it's a shame that someone had to lose their life in such a way, and for those children to witness that -- you know, they're going to be traumatized for a long time for something like that," Hartwell said.
Copyright 2010 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 
Email
Print
Comments
