GUILTY MA - Tanicia Goodwin for attempted murder, arson, Salem, 2012

Desdemona

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46784860/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/#.T2d-vfUcsdU

SALEM, Mass. — A mother accused of slashing her children's throats and setting fire to the family's apartment had removed the unit's inside doorknob, sealed vents, covered sprinklers and disabled the smoke alarm, prosecutors said Monday at the woman's arraignment.

<snip>

Firefighters responding to reports of a fire on the seventh floor of the Salem Heights apartment complex at about 9:15 p.m. Sunday found Goodwin and her 3-year-old daughter, Erica, in a neighbor's apartment. The girl had a laceration to her neck, and Goodwin was also suffering from what was described in court as a "superficial" wound to her neck.

Goodwin's 8-year-old son, Jamal, was found inside the family's apartment with a neck wound so deep his trachea was exposed, Assistant District Attorney Melissa Woodard said.

Both children were flown to Children's Hospital Boston in critical condition.

[more at link]

Did she get the idea from Josh? :maddening:
 
Saying my prayers for the children. So far, it sounds like mama tried to make it look like a home invasion of sorts.

I'll be watching for updates on this.
 
http://www.centurylink.net/news/rea...ass&action=5&lang=en&_LT=UNLC_USNWU00L5_UNEWS

SALEM, Mass. (AP) — Blood and lighter fluid stained her clothes and slash wounds marked her neck when Tanicia Goodwin walked to a police station, smashed a display case in the lobby and collapsed to the floor.

Minutes earlier, Goodwin had slashed both her children's throats, soaked them with lighter fluid and set their apartment on fire, according to prosecutors and emergency officials.

But Goodwin didn't initially tell police much Sunday night. "I did what I had to do to protect my children, I'm sorry," Goodwin kept repeating to a police interviewer, according to authorities.

Her 8-year-old son, Jamal, was more specific as he was being treated, though he couldn't talk and was struggling to breathe.

"The paramedic asked if his mother did this to him and he nodded yes," prosecutor Melissa Woodard said at Salem District Court on Monday.

Jamal was in critical condition and Goodwin's 3-year-old daughter, Erica, was in stable condition Monday after both underwent surgery at Children's Hospital in Boston, officials said.

More at link....
 
Horrific:


Prosecutors said Goodwin didn't just set the fire and leave her son inside, but she also disabled the apartment's smoke alarms, removed the interior doorknob and blocked the vents and nearly every sprinkler with duct tape. She also left her daughter alone in a neighboring apartment, face down and bleeding on a couch, Salem Fire Chief David Cody said.
 
OMG! These darling children are alive! I am shocked, but thankful.

This is the 2nd story I've read about a mom killing/trying to kill her children.

There was a woman in Missouri that shot her 3 girls and then herself.

Prayers for these children!
 
Interesting info here. She had previously given up custody of her son to her cousin in 2007, and then got him back in 2010 after she had her daughter.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1061118504&cnum=8

Suffolk Probate Court Judge Joan P. Armstrong awarded Tanicia Ann Goodwin, now 25, &#8220;sole legal and physical custody&#8221; of her son, Jamaal Lajon Goodwin in June 2010 after Goodwin reached a written agreement with her cousin, according to probate court records obtained by the Herald.

&#8220;If at any time the mother feels overwhelmed and believes that she cannot parent the minor child on a full-time basis, she shall contact the (cousin) and request that he file for (guardianship),&#8221; the pact stipulates
 
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/30723688/detail.html

At a custody hearing in 2009, Deborah Cox testified that she supported Goodwin getting custody back, while Wayne Cox testified that he did not.
"It's hard to fathom that this could happen, given that, you know, the courts were warned that, you know, she was not fit to raise two children," Wayne Cox said.
"I know I was very instrumental in helping her get her children back. And I don't regret that, because I believe kids should be with their mother. And at the time, I really didn't know any of this, how bad, remotely bad," Deborah Cox said. "If a glance went through my mind that I even thought she could've done anything like this, I would never have supported (Goodwin getting custody)."

Read more: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/30723688/detail.html#ixzz1pgrfAP5f
 
I'll venture to say that a person in that state of mind probably doesn't have much idea of the details happening anywhere else other than in their own mind. I'd say the same with Josh. I expect he was just consumed with his own situation...that's all there was in the whole world...his own tragedy.

I hope the children in this case are much better cared for by the State and others than poor Charlie and Braden were.

IMO
 
Reading follow-up articles today... Noted something neither here nor there, but interesting:

Family members who had been concerned for these kids' well-being for years and were involved in back-and-forth custody for them are coincidentally also named Cox.

The article linked below quotes these Coxes and refers to this mom living in her own hell, which is similar to what was said about Josh.

In this story at least, it looks like these sane and loving Coxes may have the opportunity Susan's parents were cruelly denied -- to rescue the babies and give them a good home. Praying for all the little ones, whether deceased or left alive to suffer.

:tears:

Personally, I am of the opinion that this mother most likely slit the childrens' throats and set the place on fire with the original intent to kill them and die in the inferno with them, (like JP) but chickened out and made up the intruder story to try to cover her actions after the fact. Thank God the babies survived in this case.

Knife vs hatchet, lighter fluid vs. gasoline, maybe? Ugh.

But yeah, I can see the point: It does look like this mama was definitely in a messed-up state of mind, apparently for quite some time, and who knows what if anything she ever heard of JP, or what kind of intent she might have been able to form and carry out. Poor babies all.

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/...hey-plan-to-take-custody-of-goodwin-s-2-kids/
 
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46784860/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/#.T2d-vfUcsdU

SALEM, Mass. — A mother accused of slashing her children's throats and setting fire to the family's apartment had removed the unit's inside doorknob, sealed vents, covered sprinklers and disabled the smoke alarm, prosecutors said Monday at the woman's arraignment.

<snip>

Firefighters responding to reports of a fire on the seventh floor of the Salem Heights apartment complex at about 9:15 p.m. Sunday found Goodwin and her 3-year-old daughter, Erica, in a neighbor's apartment. The girl had a laceration to her neck, and Goodwin was also suffering from what was described in court as a "superficial" wound to her neck.

Goodwin's 8-year-old son, Jamal, was found inside the family's apartment with a neck wound so deep his trachea was exposed, Assistant District Attorney Melissa Woodard said.

Both children were flown to Children's Hospital Boston in critical condition.

[more at link]

Did she get the idea from Josh? :maddening:
In my personal opinion, no. There are certainly similarities but there often are in filicide cases. There is a strong link between mental illness and filicide. There is a strong link between filicide and suicide. This is true for both men and women.

Maternal and paternal filicides are as different, often, as they are similar - and usually for different motives as well.

The true difference, however, in my experience is how these crimes are viewed by both society and the justice system. Historically and even currently women are often held to a lesser culpability than their male counterparts. MOO

This is one paper that discusses the similarities and differences of maternal and paternal filicides for those interested:
http://www.jaapl.org/content/35/1/74.full
 
Prayers for the children to survive and eventually thrive in loving arms. Mom has her own set of demons. I thank God that they weren't severely burned since the fire never got off the ground.

As with Josh Powell and many other cases, the courts have chosen family unification over the safety of the children. Josh had custody of Charlie and Braden long enough to inflict so much emotional abuse on them.

Tanicia Goodwin had enough time with her children to physically abuse one at least.

I believe that any parent who is a POI in a missing person/possible murder as was Josh, or a parent who has children removed and seek their return should be made to undergo extensive psychological testing at the outset.
 
http://kron4.com/2015/01/02/mom-sentenced-for-slashing-her-2-kids-throats-setting-them-on-fire/

A Massachusetts woman who slashed her two children’s throats — before dousing them with lighter fluid and setting fire to their apartment — was sentenced Friday to 20 to 25 years in prison.

Tanicia Goodwin, 27, of Salem, pleaded guilty to armed assault with intent to murder, arson and other charges during a hearing in Salem Superior Court. She was ordered to not have contact with any children, including her own...
 

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