Memphis mom charged in kids’ stabbing deaths taken to institute
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) —Â Authorities say a mother charged with fatally stabbing four of her children has been taken to a mental health institute after a brief court appearance.
Shelby County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Earle Farrell says 29-year-old Shanynthia Gardner was taken to Memphis Mental Health Institute after she appeared before a judge in a video hearing Tuesday.
The institute is a state psychiatric hospital where most patients have severe and persistent mental illness and are hospitalized on an emergency, involuntary basis, according to a state website. Farrell said he did not know what treatment she was receiving.
Gardner did not answer a judge’s questions during her hearing. She has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of her three daughters and one son — all younger than 5 — in a suburban Memphis apartment.
Gardner is being held without bond. A lawyer hired to represent her declined to comment on the case.
