The woman who allegedly stabbed her two children to death Wednesday night had mental-health issues, neighbors said Thursday morning.
The woman -- identified by neighbor Erica Harris as Jamina Briggs -- apparently stabbed her two children a little before 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at 230 Tillman Street in Binghamton. That is part of the Tillman Cove apartments, one-story brick structures that sit a half-block from the Shelby Farms Greenline.
Briggs, 29, was booked into Jail East just after 10 a.m., but her charges haven't been listed yet.
Responding officers found the woman's children -- two boys, one 6 years old and another 23 months old -- in critical condition with stab wounds. They were rushed to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, but could not be saved.
"A while ago, she told me she was in and out of Lakeside," Harris said, referring to the Lakeside Behavioral Health System. "For her to turn around and do her baby like that, man, I don't know."
This isn't the first time a Memphis mother has been accused of stabbing her children. Monica Spann was sentenced to 27 years in prison for critically wounding her two sons in 2008. The children, ages 3 and 11 months at the time of the attack, survived.
Harris also said she rarely saw anyone visit Briggs, particularly her family. She added that while the 23-month-old stayed with Briggs, two other of the woman's children usually stayed with their grandmother.
"I used to wonder why more of her family members never came out here and checked on her, if they knew she's like that," said Harris, who added that she attended East High with Briggs.
Harris said Briggs had only been living in the apartment one to two months. A couple of weeks ago, Harris said, Briggs grew enraged because some of her appliances weren't working. She went to the management office and started a fracas. A woman in that office would not comment Thursday.
Another neighbor across Tillman Street said he sometimes let Briggs use his phone. Around 3 p.m. Wednesday, Robert Yates said he saw her walking from a nearby store with her children, but nothing seemed amiss.
Yates said he noticed something unusual about Briggs.
"You could tell she wasn't wrapped too tight, y'know," he said.
Copyright 2013 - The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
