Girl talked of stabbing brother weeks before attack, mother says

The mother of a 12-year-old girl, who stabbed her younger brother at their Oklahoma home according to police, has said her daughter had previously spoken to her friends about what she wanted to do.

April Lyda spoke to Chris Cuomo on NewsNation on Thursday and said her daughter, who had been on and off medication for years, spoke about her desire to stab her younger brother two weeks before the incident.

“All I know is that she was having thoughts of stabbing him two weeks prior,” she said. “She had reached out to a few of her friends and told them and unfortunately they were maybe afraid to tell their parents or me. But they did not so I had no idea she was having those thoughts.”

The stabbing occurred in January in Tulsa’s St. Thomas Square neighborhood but bodycam footage was released on May 26.

The Law and Crime YouTube channel posted the police footage showing the moment the accused 12-year-old girl was escorted out of her home as her 9-year-old brother suffered from stab wounds in the family home. After being taken to hospital, the child died of his injuries.

In the footage, the girl can be seen crying and apologizing repeatedly. Once in handcuffs, she directs a police officer to where she says the knife landed after she threw it out of the window. Newsweek has contacted the Tulsa Police Department via email for comment.

On Thursday, Lyda went into greater detail of her daughter’s behavior ahead of the attack and how, at the time, she believed it was normal teenage behavior.

“She had begun to go to her room for hours, that wasn’t normal for her,” she told Cuomo. “She would just want her own space, those last few weeks, so something was going on with her but I just took it as normal teenage behavior. She [was] 12, her menstrual cycle and everything.

“It was normal for me because I went through that and I did not want to be bothered by people and would spend hours in my room.

“I had no idea about her thoughts, I guess she did tell two of her friends and they did tell us afterwards but that was the only warning we had and unfortunately they didn’t say anything.”

In a GoFundMe page set up by family friends after the incident, an 800-word message posted on May 27, which appears to come from Lyda, said her daughter had loved her brother and the pair had never physically fought before.

Lyda said that the 12-year-old “never had behavioral issues until she was put back on medication she was off of for over a year.”

While speaking with Cuomo, Lyda went into greater details of the ADHD (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) medication her daughter had been on an off of during her childhood.

On Thursday, Lyda said: “I’m hanging in there, one day at a time. From what we found it looks like it was a medication issue, not anything else, a manic episode of some kind. She was fine, she wasn’t unstable until she was put back on the medication.”

Speaking about what happened for the 12-year-old to come off her medication, Lyda said: “She cut her arms within a month of being back on it, I immediately took her off after speaking to the school and her doctor and herself, we had a long conversation.

“She felt that she was really irritated, irritable, angry for no reason on the medication so of course I took her off of it. Unfortunately it was too late, the damage was done, stuff like this can happen months or even years after being off of a medication like this.”

Lyda said that her daughter is currently in custody and has been speaking with specialists everyday for the last six months.

She went on to say her daughter feels guilty and still does not know why she attacked her brother. The mother added that she hoped that her daughter can get the medical and emotional support that she needs.

She also said that the police have said that down the line the 12-year-old could face criminal charges. The mother did not detail what those charges could be.

“Officers learned the children’s parent was upstairs asleep when the 12-year-old daughter woke the parent up and said that she had stabbed her 9-year-old brother,” the Tulsa Police Department said in a statement issued on January 6, the day after the incident. “The 12-year-old female suspect was taken into custody and is currently being held at the Family Center for Juvenile Justice.”